


Pink and Purple

by Bunnylope



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-25
Updated: 2016-01-30
Packaged: 2018-04-17 03:56:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4651320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bunnylope/pseuds/Bunnylope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A few months have passed after Agent 3 finally took down the Octarians. However, something is amiss: an Octoling escaped from her Kettle and is convinced that she's seen the error of her ways. Now Agent 3 has to juggle housing an Octoling, being a team captain, and making sure that the city is safe. Nothing can go wrong, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nell

Inkopolis was bright and buzzing with activity like any usual summertime afternoon. Shielding her eyes, an eighteen year old Inkling with shoulder length pink “hair’” trudged out of the Lobby, her Inkbrush slung across her sore shoulders. She was splatted a lot more that round than she was used to. The girl was not aware if it was because she was rusty or if it was just another turf war kicking her butt. It was probably the latter, she hoped, trying to retain a sliver of pride.

One of her teammates with a Dual Squelcher named G.D. patted her on the back with a grin, lime green ink splatters flecked on his body. “You did great out there, Mawi!”

A smile spread on her face. “Heh, let’s hope we can keep it up for tomorrow’s battle,” said the girl with a chuckle. “After not doing a real battle for a month because of the suspension thing I feel rusty.” Mawi was her name. It wasn’t the most common name in the world, but she liked it because it was unique and, like her best friend Rosie says, ‘it’s cute-- but has a bit of a bite.’

“Yeah, bein’ suspended for a month was hard on all of us,” said the boy with a sour glare towards the Pink Team’s sniper, Carter, a boy with a varsity jacket and just as much green ink flecked on his brown skin as GD, who didn’t look guilty at all even though it was him who practically gave the Green Team’s captain a black eye, “but with the Inkbrush Queen leading our team we’ll be back at it in no time.” A blush dusted on her cheeks. She never regarded herself with such a high title.

“Hey, I couldn’t do anything without you or Carter’s sniping ability,” answered the girl, brushing off the compliment. She was the new Captain of the Pink Team and she was still getting used to the whole ordeal. All she was sure about was that practice was at 1 to 4 every other day, excluding weekends.

GD nodded and flinched when Carter bonked him on the head with his blue charger. Carter was excellent at the Squiffer and rarely ever missed a shot. “How about that first battle, huh? In the bag,” stated the boy with a smirk.

“Please remember that we only won by 2%. Judd was practically pitying us.”

“Lighten up Maw, a win is a win in my book. We did great for not doing turf wars for a month. Just take it and be proud.”

She chuckled. “You win, Carter. By the way, where’s Cerene? We have to go get those victory milkshakes.” It was tradition for generations for the Pink Team to get milkshakes after a battle. Cerene is usually the person who’s most excited for that aspect of winning: she’s the best .92 Gal user Mawi’s ever seen, not to mention one of her long time best friends.

GD piped up. “Ce told me that she’ll meet us at the diner, she’s got to drop off some books or something at her place first.”

“Hm. Fair enough.” Cerene built computers in her free time. That was her definition of ‘fun.’ But hey, if it makes her happy, nobody has a right to complain. “Just let me grab a snack first, I’d rather not pay 5 dollars for fries when I can pay 1.50 for chips.”

Leaving the boys to put away their weapons she let out a breath and stretched with her arms behind her head. It was tough, though nice being back in the game. The feeling of her Inkbrush in her hands was a welcome and comforting feeling: it was home. Rummaging in her jacket pocket she pulled out a dollar and fed it in the nearest vending machine. She shifted her weight, debating in her mind what kind of snack she was in the mood for. It wasn’t necessarily a Doritos kind of day or a Pretzels kind of day. Settling on Cheez-Its she pressed the button and the snack bag landed with a clang.

“Pssssst. Psssssssst. _Pssssssssst,”_ hissed a voice causing her to freeze with her Cheez-Its bag in her hand. ‘Please don’t let it be who I think it is,’ she thought to herself. Turning around she saw a familiar face peeking out of the open manhole. Yep. It was who she thought it was.

“Uh, Cap’n Cuttlefish, how’s it going? Is everything okay?” she asked, looking down towards the elderly inkling. It wasn’t that she was unhappy to see him, quite the contrary: it was just that whenever he called her over something was wrong or something had to be done.  At least he wasn’t kidnapped this time (that was a story for another day).

He looked sheepish, which was never a good sign. “You might want to come down and see for yourself, Agent 3.” With an air of finality he plopped back into the grated manhole without another word leaving Mawi, who sighed and walked towards her teammates in exasperation.

“So, uh, I’m going to have to take a rain check, okay? Tell Cerene that I’ll text her or something later. And don’t fight over who gets shotgun,” the girl added with a wink. They all knew that this happened every time someone was asked to drive.

“You’re fine with getting home by yourself?” Carter asked with furrowed brows. He was always over concerned with safety.

She nodded, flattered at his genuine concern. “I’ll be fine, mom, trust me.”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” said Momma Carter as he and GD headed towards the car.

Checking that nobody was watching and suddenly very anxious about what she was getting herself into this time, she slid herself into the manhole and into the sewers, following Cap’n Cuttlefish’s lead.

| | |

Octo Valley looked the same as it always had: cotton clouds highlighting pure blue skies, a breathtaking contrast of the Octopus shaped mountain, and DJ Octavio trapped in a giant snow globe, looking utterly furious at the sight of the Inkling who ruined his life. Mawi smirked and tapped the glass making the Octarian leader flinch. If the snow globe was still there then the problem definitely wasn’t his escape, much to her relief, since fighting him (and winning) twice.

Cap’n Cuttlefish tapped his walking stick on the ground. “Welp, the reason why you’re here, bucko, is that I’m sort of… In a pickle. This morning I was doing my check of all the kettles, you know how it goes, to make sure nothing fishy is about, and I found something off in Area Four.” Pausing, he gestured to the sofa near his shack, which was surprisingly occupied. Her breath caught in her throat as her hand instinctively went to the handle of her Inkbrush, her knuckles pale as her vice-like grip tightened.

“I-Is that, an Octoling? Outside the kettles? Sitting in your chair?” stuttered the girl as she tried processing exactly what she was looking at. It was definitely an Octoling for sure. The humanoid Octarian sat patiently with her legs crossed and twiddled her thumbs. She was _this close_ to splatting the thing right then and there, but something in the Octoling’s demeanor caused her to hesitate. The Octoling wasn’t drawing her weapon or preparing splat bombs like the other bloodthirsty ones that were usually encountered in the kettles. The armor was right, the boots were right, the multiple gaudy orange tentacles were right, though she was missing her mask.

The Octoling’s eyes were hypnotically beautiful. They were the color of acid and were lined with purple and her face was highlighted with soft freckles travelling all the way from her nose and cheeks.  A lump was caught in her throat.

“Yes, yes, and yes. I found her outside her kettle, and of course I was going to splat her to Octo-blivion, but her behavior patterns are quite different to that of normal Octolings. She told me that she wants to be good and reintegrate herself into society.” A thick and awkward air hung in Octo Valley as she reluctantly lowered her weapon. There was no way in hell that the Octolings could ever be considered ‘good.’ She has the burn marks on her neck from her work as the Big Bad “Agent 3” and their disgusting purple ink to prove it.

“Is this the girl that you wanted me to hang around with?” asked the Octoling while surveying her up and down with a dissatisfied look. “Her tentacles are not as full as mine are. What a weird Octoling.”

The lump in the girl’s throat suddenly became huge as if she swallowed a jellyfish. No words came to her mouth or her brain. This old man is completely off his rocker, and especially if he expects Inkopolis to bend their rules just because this Octoling is ‘different.’ People will flip if word got out that there was an Octoling outside of the kettles.

“Cap’n, don’t you think that this is a bit, uh… _Too_ progressivefor Inkopolis to handle? They’ll splat her or skin her or cook her if they find out that there’s one living in their city! And for the record,” Mawi leaned close to the Octoling, venom dripping from her words, “I’m not, and will _never_ be one of you pieces of sea scum.”

She furrowed her brow in confusion. “But if you are not an Octoling, then what are you?”

“I’m an Inkling. I change to a squid.”

The Octoling looked like she just stepped in something slimy and had to scrape it off the bottom of her shoe. “That is a bit distasteful, don’t you think? Why be a squid when you could be an octopus?” She smiled a sickly sweet smile which made her fume. “I apologize, but I just don’t see the appeal in your kind.”

The pink Inkling pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation and looked at Cap’n Cuttlefish for some sort of help, though she didn’t know why she even expected any: he was staring back and forth between the both of them enjoying the juicy drama like this was _The Real Housewives of Inkopolis_.

“So, what do I have to do? You know that my main job is getting rid of these things.”

The old man shifted his weight and decided how he should give the news, one reason being out of fear for how Agent 3 will react, and the other reason being that he is forcing her to do this and there needs to be a definite sugarcoat.

“I want you to keep Nell as a houseguest and take her around, make sure that she doesn’t get into any shenanigans and all that. I want her to live with you. Her mind is developed enough to have overpowered the brainwashing she was under and I think she’s ready to rejoin society. I want Inkopolis to become whole again. You of all people, Agent 3, should want that too, right?”

“I picked the name out myself. My name is Nell,” piped up the Octoling as she stared at her, waiting for some sort of answer.

She wanted to say no so badly that it physically hurt. “…And if she goes back to a cookie cutter brainwashed Octoling while I’m asleep?”

Nell stood up and was significantly taller than the inkling, thus making her even more intimidated than she already was. “If that happens then I urge you to, quoting this nice man, ‘splat me into octo-blivion.’ I want peace more than any of you. I am very sorry for anything that my kind have done to earn this kind of treatment in your society. All I ask is that you give me a chance to prove it.” The girl glanced towards the burn welts on her neck with sorrow in her being. They all knew that Octarian ink was deadly to the Inklings, whereas enemy Ink used in regular turf wars was only overly sticky.

Being vicious to this girl was solving nothing. At this point she was backed up in a corner. If the authorities found out that she was housing an Octoling there’s no way she’d ever see the light of day. The problem was that Nell was being completely genuine. If she told that spiel to anyone else there was no way they’d treat her any different.

“Treat it as a social experiment, Mawi.”

She held her face in her hands and looked towards the Octoling with utter disgust, to which the Octoling reciprocated. “You’re lucky I have an extra room.”

What did she have to lose besides her life, right?

Nell smiled from ear to ear, fangs poking out in a toothy grin. “Thank you for giving me a chance. Even if you _are_ an Inkling.”

Mawi chose not to decipher whether or not that was a compliment and turned to leave. “Come on, I’ll tell you the house rules along the way. Plus I’ve got a bag to go over your head so you don’t attract… Unwanted attention. Also,” she held up a peace sign, “bye boss!”

The two let themselves out through the manhole, both equally disgusted of each other’s presence, and even more disgusted with the fact that there wasn’t a time limit to this “social experiment.”

Cap’n Cuttlefish returned her peace sign and frowned, turning to DJ Octavio. “My money’s on two days.”


	2. Armor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "there's not enough sass i gotta add more sass" - me

With heaving breaths Mawi slammed the door to her apartment closed and latched the locks. No one was following them, but it was better than having to explain why an octopus monstrosity was in her home.

Nell looked around curiously with her hand on her chin. “Your home is smaller than I imagined it would be, but it’s alright. I am used to coping with poor living conditions.” She paused and looked at the other girl. “So just to recap: I am not allowed to eat things with your name on it, make a lot of noise, splat you in your sleep, go outside alone, touch any of your stuff, ‘be annoying,’ or open any of the windows. Am I missing anything crucial?”

The inkling threw her backpack and Inkbrush on the floor and plopped onto the plush sofa. “Nah, that’s basically it.”

“What if I want to go out with you?”

“You’d either have to wear that bag I gave you or a really big sunhat,” said Mawi.

Nell pouted and sat next to her, causing the Inkling to scooch over awkwardly. She was still iffy about being near Octolings after she practically got splatted by one. Most of the residents in Inkopolis don’t know what it’s like to fight against Octarian ink. By the time Mawi was able to get her wound all cleaned up (with the help of Cap’n Cuttlefish) her skin was blistered and practically melted. It could be compared to acid burns.

“Hey, but what if I tied my tentacles up into a big bun? And then we put a sunhat over that? Do you think that would work, Mawi?” Nell inquired as she pulled at her orange tentacles. “Do you have a hat I could procure for the time being?”

Mawi sighed and stood up, gesturing her to follow her to the closet in her small pink bedroom. Opening it, there was a sea of various Splatfest tee shirts from past years, rows of shoes, a bunch of tops, sweatshirts, and cardigans, and loads of headgear.

Nell’s eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store at the sight of all the unfamiliar gear. She had never seen so many patterns and color combinations—her Octoling armor was all she had ever known. Looking down at her clothes she realized how boring it was to be dressed like all the other Octolings. She doesn’t even remember picking the armored outfit in the first place; it was as if the armor was thrust upon her since birth.

Reaching out towards the pile of hats and headgear Nell sifted through the pile. No, not that, goggles wouldn’t help—Jungle hat? More like loser hat. The girl hummed as she picked up an orange Sporty Bobble Hat. It was the right size and adorable just as much. The girl pulled the knit hat over her tentacles, careful to leave the two front ones out to look as much like an Inkling as possible. Finishing, she looked at Mawi for some sort of clarification. The girl tilted her head and squinted at Nell.

“It could work, but we gotta do something about your eyes.”

“How are you going to change my eyes?”

“Not your _eyes,_ the mask around your eyes. You have a purple mask and Inklings have black masks. Thankfully I have eyeliner that we can use to fake it.”

A smile like sunshine spread on Nell’s freckled face. “Oh, I can’t wait to actually _go places!_ Above ground! With other people!” exclaimed the Octoling as she wrapped her arms around Mawi in a tight embrace. The Inkling’s body went rigid with fear from the sudden action. Nell pulled away quickly as she sensed her discomfort. “I-I apologize, I am just so thankful for what you’re doing for me. I have never seen someone make such an effort for me.”

The girl rubbed her arm nervously to get the feeling away with loss for words. The least she was doing was being hospitable. It made her sad to think about what Nell has went through. Mawi couldn’t believe that she could have ever felt sympathy for a creature like her. Suddenly she was grateful for all of the experiences and privileges she was unaware that she took advantage of. From her experiences with the Octarians it was never clear if there were families, caretakers, or teachers in the domes. The only thing that she was sure of was that they were shooting deadly ink and that she had to splat them before they could get to her. What a horrible agenda.

“Didn’t you have family or friends back in the domes?” asked the girl, wishing that she had bitten her tongue.

Nell’s smile faded. She tapped her index finger against her thumb nervously, making an effort to find the words. “I don’t remember. I remember there being more like me—Octolings, I mean. There were some with black tentacles and seaweed on their heads. I had to take orders from them. If I did have a family the brainwashing would have made me forget them.”

Opening her mouth to say something, a knock was heard at the door. Mawi’s inner alarms went off: _Oh crap they found out, someone smelled the Octoling leading up to my apartment, the cops are here, I’m not ready to go to prison oh my God I have so much in my life that I want to do—_

A muffled key jingling was heard on the opposite end of the lock. Letting herself in, a 15 year old mint green Inkling waltzed in and shoved the spare apartment key into her bag. She suddenly regretted ever giving Rosie that thing. Rosie was her best friend in all of Inkopolis and the best sniper she's ever known (besides Carter, but the Squiffer is practically another category). Mawi made a mental note to make Rosie and Carter have a sniper fight.

“Yo, Mawi, you home?” yelled the mint Inkling, looking around curiously. She would leave if Mawi wasn’t here, but seeing her Inkbrush leaning on the wall, Rosie knew that she was here.

Mawi took a deep breath and turned to Nell who looked positively stunned. Mouthing the word ‘stay,’ she went into her living room and awkwardly leaned on the wall in an attempt to look nonchalont.

“H-Hey Rosie! What are you doing here?” she muttered with a chuckle.

Rosie narrowed her eyes. “I was just in the neighborhood and wondered if you wanted to go into town to get a pizza or something. It’s almost dinnertime, anyway.”

“Oh, right, food, that’s kinda important,” the girl paused and wrung her hands, mentally making a pros and cons list of telling her.

“Mawi, what is pizza?” Nell asked as she walked over to stand by the girl, who had her face in her hands. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Rosie didn’t look amused in the slightest.

“Who are you?” The girl took a few steps closer to the undercover Octoling. “More like _what_ are you…?”

“My name is Nell, and you?"

"I'm Rosie."

Mentally screaming and panicking Mawi stood in between the two of them as a human shield. “Ha ha, can I talk to you? In private?” Rosie and Nell exchanged wary glances. “Nell, go… Go play in the bathroom. There’s a sink in there. You’ll like the sink. Water comes out of it,” she hastily spouted as she shoved Nell in the other direction, leaving the two Inklings in a heavy silence.

“Look, I know what you’re thinking—“

“She’s not an Inkling? No, I kind of assumed, especially since she doesn’t have a mask around her eyes. Unless it’s makeup and I’m being totally pissed off for no reason.”

Mawi looked sheepish and Rosie groaned. She really should be used to Mawi's 'Agent 3 things'. “Really? An Octoling? The things you kill for a living?”

“It was official business from Cap’n Cuttlefish, what could I do?”

“ _Say ‘no?’”_

“You know that I couldn’t say no. I just gotta find a way for her to walk around and be unnoticed.”

Rosie scoffed. “Good luck with that.”

“Oh come on, are you going to help me with this or not? You can’t stay mad at me, you’re stuck with me.”

“How can I even help you with this? She’s a goddamn Octoling, AKA, if you forgot, the things that are our mortal enemies.”

“Just don’t blow my cover! Have my back! That kind of stuff! Take her around when I’m doing the Team Captain duties, I don’t care!”

She sighed and shook her head doubtfully. “You know that this is never going to last.”

“Thank you yet again, Rosalie, for your sunshiney outlook.”

Rosie crossed her arms and didn’t reply; instead she looked up at Mawi with eyes the color of clover. “You’re going to have to put eyeliner on her and pray to God that no one finds out, or else both you and I are going to be worse than calamari.”

A smile spread on Mawi’s face. “You’re always there for me, Rosie, thank you a million times.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah yeah yeah, don’t be so sappy. So pizza or not? I’m hungry after sniping all day.”

Nell walked out of the bathroom rubbing a fluffy yellow towel against her cheeks. “Mawi, your towels are so soft! Are all towels this soft?”

“No, uh, go sit down. I’ve gotta put eyeliner on you to finish it off.”

The Octoling obliged and sat down in front of the two girls. “Are we going outside tonight?” she asked while the pink Inkling rummaged through her drawers for a tube of eyeliner. Finding it and shaking the bottle rigorously she started to outline the shape of a mask around the girl’s eyes.

“Sadly, yes. If it were up to me I wouldn’t take you anywhere. Close your eyes,” she added as the Octoling pouted. Filling in the stencil Mawi stood back and admired her handiwork. Rosie tilted her head and shrugged.

“I think she’ll pass. I mean, at least she looks less hideous than she did,” snickered Rosie as Nell let out a laugh.

“Hideous?"

"Yeah, hideous."

"Believe whatever makes you feel less insecure. I’m gorgeous, and that is not me being vain: it’s a fact. Mawi is beautiful as well in her own way, but you… You make up for your subpar personality with making fun of others as if it raises your deflated ego.”

Mawi’s mouth dropped open. “Holy crap you Rosie just got owned.”

Rosie frowned and turned to her friend. “Am I allowed to use my Splatterscope on her, or—“

“No. We’re leaving.”

“Where are we going?” Nell asked as she pulled the towel around her neck like a scarf.

Sifting through her bag Mawi got out her apartment key. “We’re going to get food, specifically pizza.”

“Will you tell me what pizza is?”

“Pizza is heaven that you can eat,” Rosie piped up as she walked out the door, leaving the two.

The girl realized halfway through the door that Nell was still wearing her Octoling Armor. Without a word she pulled the her towards her closet. “You gotta pick a shirt, no one wears armor anymore.”

Nell frowned and looked through her closet for a shirt. Everything was so new to her. She had no idea what was ‘in’ or what was cool or what was bad or what was good or what would look good on her. Settling on a black and white striped shirt with a red stripe on the bottom, she took it out of the closet and held it up to her body. “Is this one alright?”

A chuckle escaped her. “That shirt used to be my favorite, I used to wear it all the time. It’ll look nice on you.”

She smiled and took it off the coat hanger. “I’ll meet you two outside after I put it on.”

Mawi nodded and left Nell to fix her clothes and meet Rosie on the ground floor. 

Nell slowly unlatched the straps to her breastplate and was able to take it off over her head. She held it in her hands and closely examined it for the first time: there were nicks, dents, and even rusted out patches around the trim. She had no idea what she was doing in this or why it was so beat up. She also had no clue why she didn’t feel whole without it. It wasn’t the feeling of homesickness or longing, but something bigger than that. Without her armor she felt like she didn’t know what her purpose was.

Setting down the armor on her temporary bed she put on the long sleeved shirt and held it close to her body, wrapping her arms around herself protectively. It was just as soft as the towel.

Leaving the room and walking out of the apartment she felt whole and new. She was excited and elated for the chance that she was getting. At the same time, however, she felt like she was missing the familiar weight of the breastplate.

Attempting to push up her goggles she remembered that she doesn’t have them anymore. Instead, a black eyeliner smudge was left on her fingers, and Nell wondered if any of this was worth it.


	3. Practice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anxious gay babies talk about turf war strategies

Nell awoke to the sound of Mawi’s voice echoing from the hallway, “Yo sleeping beauty, wake up, I have team practice that I can’t miss. Plus it’s time for you to overview your first turf war.” As her voice echoed in her head the Octoling sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her blurred eyes.

Golden morning light filtered through the curtains on the left side of the room’s window. Sitting on the windowsill were four mason jars of varying sizes with soil and small plants inside soaking up the fresh sunlight. Mawi had a hobby of cultivating terrariums, she assumed.

Trudging out of the warm bed she looked towards the desk chair and saw the white striped shirt that she wore last night right next to her beat up breastplate. Seeing the armor made her stomach flip with anxiety. Ever since she took it off she felt different both physically and mentally. She reminded herself that she had to be an Inkling, she had to be an Inkling, she had to be an Inkling; but why did she have to be an Inkling? Why was their society so corrupted as to shame and discriminate against other living beings just because they are not ‘like everyone else?’ Why did everyone insist on hiding what she was?

_What you are is a warrior. A brainless warrior. Look at that thing, all rusted out and dented like you’ve been in war firsthand. You could have killed people, you monster._ Nell looked down at her hands—they had freckles, veins, and callouses. _Why are your hands so rough, Nell? Is it because you shoot people for a living?_

Holding her breath she pulled on the shirt and fixed herself in the closet mirror. _Do you seriously think that you can hide what you did? The guilt is written all across your face; all over your disgusting, Octoling face._ Finally she pulled on her bobble hat and boots. _Honey, look at the bottom of your shoes. That’s definitely not stained with your ink color._

“Are you ready to go?” asked the pink inkling as Nell walked into the living area.

“As ready as I will ever be,” she answered with a grin. She was excited to finally watch a turf war, even if it was practice. The inkling culture was so fascinating.

“If you haven’t eaten breakfast I have an extra banana and protein bar in my bag, we can eat on the metro to Bluefin Depot. No one is there at this hour anyway.”

“Wait, what time is it?”

“It’s like 8:30, practice is at 9.”

Nell tilted her head. “This hour is what you consider ‘early?’ This is late in my book.”

“Well, what time to Octolings get up?”

“Since there isn’t a _sun_ underground, it’s hard to tell the time. Usually 5 in the morning,” Nell chuckled, “I guess we are different in some respects. Inklings being lazy was the reason why we won the first battles of the Great Turf War. You have to be up with the sun.”

She gave Nell a blank look, not believing how anyone in the right mind would get up at 5. “You can wake _me_ up next time then.” Digging through her bag she handed the Octoling a banana. “Happy breakfast, we’re gonna be late,” said the girl as she practically shoved Nell out the door.

Mawi’s apartment wasn’t particularly posh, but it wasn’t that bad either. It was a few blocks away from Arowana Mall. The apartment complexes around there are more expensive and get more traffic. However, she wasn’t complaining: it was near the beach, a good price, and she had a view. The problem was that since it was near the beach and the mall the streets were always bustling with traffic and civilians, even at the lone hour of 8:30 on a Saturday morning.

As they left the building and weaved through the crowd Nell was self-conscious about her disguise. Last night it was different because it was darker out and there were not as many people. Now she’s going to go on public transportation in full view of everyone. There’s no way this is going to work.

Nell let out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding. It felt like thousands of eyes were watching her as if she was a circus act. _You don’t belong here. Why don’t you just go back underground with your kind?_ Instinctively she grabbed onto Mawi’s backpack in order not to lose her.

Stopping, the Inkling held out her hand. “We’re almost there,” she said with a warm smile, sensing her anxiety. Nell let go of the bag and took her hand in her own. Her hand was soft and comforting. As the two walked hand in hand Nell realized that nobody was looking.

~~~

The metro was relatively quiet considering it was a Saturday morning. Nell stared at the passing buildings and landscapes as Mawi was texting the “pink turds” group chat.

“Mawi: btw guys I’m bringing a friend to watch us practice just an fyi

carter: is she any cute? ;)) Jk jk

Cerene<333: what’s her name?

Cerene<333: carter stop she wouldn’t want you anyway

carter: :”(

Mawi: her name is Nell

Cerene<333: Nice

Mawi: also she’s an octoling that has been living in my house for the past two days c ya at practice :**”

After that little ordeal she promptly turned her phone on vibrate and waited for the madness to unfold. Her phone would not stop buzzing for two whole minutes. She refused to look at it. Nell had a confused look on her face as she looked towards the girl. “Mawi, why is your phone buzzing so much?” she asked.

“No reason,” she answered with a smirk. Suddenly her phone buzzed in a different pattern—Cerene’s personalized pattern. The screen read “INCOMING CALL --  CERENE <333” Mawi was trying to hold herself back from bursting into laughter.

“Hello?~” she answered the phone in an overly flowery tone. She couldn’t believe how loud Cerene was yelling. She could decipher something about “illegal” and “idiot,” and “how the hell are you going to go through with this” and finally, after a minute or so, a “what do you have to say?”

The pink inkling cleared her throat audibly. “You have reached an automated voice messaging system. Please leave a message after the beep.” Instead of waiting for Cerene to murder her over the phone she hastily ended the call and shoved the phone in her bag. Mawi silently prepared for her death as their stop was coming up.

They reached Bluefin Depot at around 8:55, practice was at 9. As they stepped out of the metro it was apparent that not much money went into this part of Inkopolis. Most of the condos here were dilapidated and shabby looking. She knew for a fact that GD, the newest boy on the team, lived here. She never mentioned it to anyone. GD told her that he was on the team to help pay for his family’s necessities. Knowing that his family depended on their wins made her feel worse when losing. 

At least it was a peaceful dwelling, unlike where Mawi’s condo is, which is bustling with activity at all hours.

“Is that the stage?” asked Nell as she pointed towards a large rusted out bridge. For some reason she felt like she remembered this place in the back of her mind, like a dream you can barely grasp.

“You got it. Watch your step, the stairs leading to this place are slick and steep.”

So they traveled to the stage, which looked more fragile and old up close. Vines snuck their way through the cracks in the pavement and chipped walls. It looked like the stone has been there since the first Great Turf War. There were two distinct halves of the map that were separated by water, so this was all about constantly climbing the gross old walls.

Two pink blobs were seen on the left side of the Depot—one male, one female. As they got closer her stomach went in knots. This was going to be the second time that Nell interacted with people not knowing the backstory, and the first time only went well because of friendship. She mentally prayed that everything would go well. _It’s just another practice. Just with another member._

“Mawi, you have some explaining to do,” called a girl with dark skin and a visor shielding her eyes from the morning sun. Ah, yes, she almost forgot that she hung up on Cerene. Jumping down the ledge and into the center area of the map she waved her hand for Nell to follow.

GD was staring at Nell with furrowed brows.

“So, uh, this is Nell, my friend. Nell, this is Cerene and GD, two members of the Pink Team. Carter isn’t here yet.”

“Hello,” stated the girl as she adjusted her hat.

Cerene didn’t look amused. “Is this because of your night job?” she said as she gestured to the Octoling.

The girl nodded and Cerene nodded back in understanding. Only she and Rosie knew about her ‘secret life’ as Agent 3. The only reason why she told Cerene was for her to cover for her when she missed practice.

“Is there any reason why you are staring at me?” Nell asked GD, who practically zoned out while looking at her.

“H-Hm? Oh, sorry. I’ve just never seen an Octoling in real life before.”

Nell narrowed her eyes. “A picture will last longer.”

With that GD averted his eyes, his ears turning red.

“So, uh, are there any male Octolings?”

She paused with a puzzled look on her face. “Not technically. The male Octarians are not as evolved as the females, that is to say that only the females have the brain capacity to be able to change form. Also, the female Octarians are more vicious. The males can only pilot their little ink mopeds and be sitting ducks.”

“Woah,” Cerene muttered.

Nell enjoyed explaining her culture. She guessed that the educational system in Inkopolis only told stories about how ‘evil and corrupt’ her kind were. What they never mentioned was how friendly the two species’ were back before the Great Turf War. They never mentioned the peace treaties, the discrimination, no, none of that, just that they were evil for fighting for their lives.

“Yo, Maw, it’s way too early for this,” a voice from the top of the ledge said with an audible yawn. Carter stood perched on the ledge, his glasses askew. Today he wore a grey shirt with striped sleeves with one rolled up to the elbow. He looked like a mess—but the type of mess that some would pass as a good mess. A hot mess.

The team captain rolled her yellow eyes. “I wanted to get here early just so we can rest up for tonight’s battle. After this we can chill. Then we go up against the Blue Team next Friday, which are pretty tough from what I’ve heard, but I wouldn’t be too worried about it.”

With that Carter jumped down and joined the Pink Team. He lowered his glasses to look at Nell, who raised her eyebrows. “Nice, nice,” muttered the boy as he unpacked the small blue charger from his bag. Nell felt awkward and out of place. 

Mawi clapped her hands. “Now that everybody’s here let’s get down to business. I haven’t been told which area we’re battling the Green Team in yet. The bigwigs have narrowed it down to the Skatepark and this place, we’ve had a lot of practice at the skatepark so if it comes to that we can just do our usual routine. If we get Bluefin, though, the main thing is keeping the walls inked since that is basically the only way out in a sticky situation.”

Reaching into her bag she unfolded a large paintbrush and balanced it on her shoulder. “Carter, because there aren’t many nests in this area, you’re going to have to go back and forth between the two sides and hold down the fort. If one side is locked down in pink and the other side is all green go over there and snipe it up. Catchin’ them when you climb up the wall are great chokepoint opportunities if they ever push that hard. Watch out for Lilith and her Dynamo since ya’ll got the same range.”

Carter nodded and held his Squiffer tight. She turned to Cerene who was shining her glittery .96 Gal Deco. “Cerene, you take the right side. I’ll follow you with a sprinkler at the ready. I need you to ink a path for me to take so I can hide and ambush. If you see someone, splat them. We need your Kraken if there’s ever a pinch so, uh, don’t die.”

“But what if I do die?”

“Just superjump in since you have the Crazy Arrows with Ninja Jump-- just make sure that you’re prepared to be ambushed just in case they’re expecting you. I never really condone superjumping but you do what you have to do.”

Nell sat down in the patchy grass and listened to Mawi dictate. She seemed too easygoing to be a team captain, and yet here she was, telling everyone the plan like a true leader. How long has she been participating in turf wars? She figured that she was probably the same age as her. It seemed a little young to be in the league. She seemed to love what she was doing.

“GD, go with Carter and ink any of the turf he misses. Since this place is huge we’re definitely going to need your Echolocater. Use it when one of us gets splatted or when you’re about to get splatted. If neither happen then feel free to use it when they’re pushing in. Watch out for Apollo with his Blaster and Disrupter especially.”

“Apollo is pretty cool, we went to laser tag together,” added GD with a grin. Despite not knowing GD that well yet, she admired him. He was one of the sweetest people she’s ever met.

“Even if you played laser tag together he can still splat you given the chance.”

The boy shrugged. “Yeah I know, but we’re still bros.”

Mawi smiled and chuckled.

“Alright, so we all know what we have to do?”

“Yep.”

“Yeeeeep.”

“Absolutely.”

“Now, before we actually start practicing, let’s talk a little bit about Sasha.”

Everyone either cringed or groaned. Sasha was the captain of the Green Team who took her job way too seriously. She was… A handful, to put it simply. She was pale as snow and wore a navy sweatshirt and bobble hat. Carter always said that she looked like an elf, despite her being roughly 6 feet tall. ‘Just imagine like. A tall elf. Like a Hobbit / Santa’s Workshop crossover. That’s Sasha.’ Carter once explained perfectly.

“Yeah I know, but she’s definitely going to have a few tricks up her sleeve this time after GD creamed her the other day with a Splat Bomb. Nice one, by the way,” said Mawi with a wink.

The boy chuckled with a bright smile.

“Okay so the point is that we have to be extra careful. Okay, now to our exercises! Let’s jump to spawn and start where we planned.

All of the pink inklings superjumped to the top of the area leaving Nell waiting patiently at the sidelines. She was thankful that they left. Getting dirty glares from Cerene was torture enough. She was only here for Mawi.

In the meantime while they did rounds Nell sifted through her bag out of curiosity. There was a wallet, sunglasses, a couple pens, a disposable camera, tissues, a tube labeled ‘burn cream,’ and a mirror. Nell knew that she was injured by an Octoling on one of her missions which is probably what the cream was for. She felt a pang of regret in her chest. Of course, she didn’t have anything to be regretful for: it wasn’t her that did it. She would have remembered an inkling in the kettles. But what if it was somebody she knew?

Staying with Nell probably brought back the memory of when she got injured. _You heartless bitch, what is she going to do when she finds out?_ She anxiously wrung her hands. It would be horrible if her presence brought back bad memories. The last thing she would want to do it have Mawi hate her.

She didn’t care if everybody in the world thought she was scum. All she cared about was that Mawi was with her. _She doesn’t care about you, her keeping you is just a chore. She can’t wait to get rid of you._

Yet, despite her anxious thoughts, she knew in the back of her mind that it wasn’t true.

| | |

Before she knew it, practice had ended, and it was 10:30. On the metro ride back Mawi was staring out the window, a heavy silence hung between the two.

“Do you know why nobody likes me?”

A lump was caught in Mawi’s throat as she looked at Nell. Her concerned face was dotted in perfect freckles like little skin stars. She had never seen Nell look sad before. She looked down towards the floor.

“Some people aren’t as progressive thinkers,” muttered the girl. “But it doesn’t matter if random people don’t like you. They don’t know you.” She bit her lip in hesitation, trying to find the right words. “I like you and that’s all that matters.”

“I thought I was ‘disgusting.’”

“Nell, you’re not disgusting. You’re wonderful.”

A part of her didn’t believe her words. Another part held onto them for dear life. Slowly she took Mawi’s free hand and entwined it with her own. “It makes me feel better when we do this,” she said with a grin that could make flowers grow.

The Inkling didn’t pull away or say anything. She wasn’t sure if Nell knew what holding hands meant. She guessed that it didn’t really matter: it made her feel better too.


	4. Baby's First Turf War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today we meet new enemies who aren't really enemies

****

“Are you sure you are ready for this battle? The Green Team looks kind of tough,” muttered Nell as she glanced towards four Inklings with clover colored tentacles. One of them had a Blaster, the other a Neo Splash-o-Matic, the small girl had a Dynamo Roller, and the one dozing off as she leaned against her weapon had a Heavy Splating Gun. The tallest one with the Neo Splash-o-Matic slapped the one dozing off on her arm.

“Margery, wake up!” the tall girl yelled in Margery’s ear. She waved her off.

“God, Sasha, turn the volume down, it’s… It’s naptime… I’ll wake up when the whistle blows,” the girl slurred as she closed her eyes again and put on her Designer Headphones to block out the noise.

Sasha stamped her foot in disbelief. She couldn’t believe that her own sister had the audacity to not take this seriously.

Unfolding her Inkbrush, Mawi looked towards the mess of a Green Team. “I wouldn’t be too worried about them. They’re more scatterbrained than a new puppy.”

Both teams were sitting in the waiting area of the Lobby waiting for the officials to announce what stage they were battling on. The floor was glimmering black tile and everything was filled with fluorescent colored lights. They had doors for people who wanted to participate in Ranked Battles--which are mostly for adult teams in the professional league--, doors for those who wanted to participate in Turf Wars, and those who wanted to goof around in Private Battles.

On a Saturday evening Mawi wanted nothing more than to be where she was right now. In her eyes this was a perfect way to spend the weekend.

“Ohgodshe’scomingoverhere,” muttered Cerene hastily as she sped out of the group. It was too late for the rest of them: Sasha was there with a disgusted look on her face.

“Hello, Mawi. Are you ready for your team to be crushed?” asked the tall girl as she crossed her arms.

She wanted to disappear. Every interaction they have always ends up with ‘who can make the best comeback.’ “Why are you asking me this if your team lost the past three battles?”

“This time will be different, we have a secret weapon up our sleeve.”

“If it’s Lilith that you’re referring to just know that she is literally as tall as a toddler.”

Sasha scowled and nodded towards Nell. “Who’s she? Do you have a little intern holding all your stuff? That is adorable.”

“My name is Nell, and no, my job is not holding everyone’s stuff.”

“Didn’t that used to be your job before they made you leader out of pity?” Mawi added as she gave Nell a high five. “We all know that Apollo would be ten times better than you are.”

“No he would not! I’ll have you know that Apollo was the one who told me to become team leader!”

The pink Inkling snickered. “Where is he, by the way?”

“Wh—“ Sasha looked towards her team to see that the only boy was missing. She found him over with GD holding each other’s weapons and laughing their heads off.

Sasha looked more offended than ever. “APOLLO!” she yelled. Apollo, a green inkling with aviators and a baby-jelly patterned shirt, looked towards Sasha.

“What?!”

“Don’t fraternize with the enemy!!”

Apollo gave her a look like ‘are you really serious right now’ but she didn’t seem to notice. Behind his sunglasses he rolled his eyes and walked over to Sasha.

“ _You’re_ fraternizing with the enemy, too,” said Apollo bitterly.

“It’s different, Apollo, see, Miss Mawi and I are both team captains, and we are having friendly team captain talk.”

“You basically came over to insult us,” said Nell.

Sasha scoffed. “Why would I need to make fun of you when your play on the battlefield does wonders already?”

A harsh beep cut through their argument. The huge screen on the wall, what was before showing live footage of battles, cut to a breaking news segment. Everyone knew the jazzy news tune—it means that the stages were turning.

Right on cue, two girls appeared on the screen. One had black tentacles and the other had white tied up tentacles. They always looked stunning. The Squid Sisters were the hottest band in Inkopolis and how they managed to get their own news station boggled everyone’s mind.

Mawi smiled as she watched the two. Believe it or not, she met both of them: and even worked with them on her agent duties. They were pretty good friends. It was nice seeing them again with her _not_ in danger.

“Hold onto your tentacles…”

“It’s Inkopolis news time!~”

 “It’s time to reveal the current regular battle stages! Marie, will you do the honors?”

“First we have Moray Towers! Blech, I don’t like that stage. Heights always get to me.”

“I love heights!” answered Callie as she jumped and punched the air. Marie crossed her arms.

“Anyway, the next stage is Blackbelly Skatepark! Hey Callie, remember when you tried to do a kickflip and fell into a ditch?”

“Yeah, but I’m better now though.”

“’Better,’” Marie put in air quotes.

“Until next time…”

“STAAAAYY FRESH!!~”

The screen went back to playing clips of turf wars. Nell was awestruck at how beautiful the two of them were. No wonder they were superstars.

“It’s our time to shine, you guys,” said Mawi as both teams readied their weapons and shuffled out into the turf war door.

| | |

It looked to be sunset so this battle was going to be one of the last ones of the day. Mawi appeared on her spawn point and shook off the excess ink. She and GD were in the front, Carter and Cerene were in the back. Nell sat in the stands on the left side of the map so she was able to see both teams. She nervously tugged on the tip of her bobble hat, her other hand gripping the railing. This was going to be the first turf war she’s ever seen in real life. She hoped that the Pink Team will win. Now that she thought about it, most of the crowd was either decorated in one color or the other. They had a lot of fans, she guessed.

The whistle pierced the air and the battle started. Mawi let out a breath that she didn’t know that she was holding. “Remember your stations!” she yelled as she started to whip the Inkbrush, flinging ink in every direction. Everyone went in different directions, yet they all inked everything in their path.

The problem with the skatepark for her was that it was curvy. It’s not like she’d be able to zip away on her Inkbrush if she was attacked. Though, it had a lot of good places to hide and if GD claimed the middle tower quickly and his aim is on point then the battle is made.

She took the right half-pipe by herself since it was a narrow passage and gave her space to throw a sprinkler out. The quick girl inked the walls and hid on the tops to survey the area. A ding of a bell was heard from the loudspeakers—that means that someone has already been splatted. The crowd went wild. Twenty seconds in and already a splat? She just hoped that it wasn’t on her team.

Carter perched himself near base and aimed to snipe anyone that came too close with his Squiffer. On the left side of the map he could hear Margery’s Splatling Gun go off. Right on cue, Margery sat her sleepy-old-self down on a ledge and charged up her Splatling, inking the entire left side. She yawned and Carter lined up his aim—splatting her out of the water. A ding was heard and he laughed to himself as the crowd cheered.

GD was on top of the tower inking in a 360. Mawi’s sprinkler was still going strong on the ledge next to him. However, a small green squid hiding in her ink snickered as she swung her dynamo roller on top of the tower which splatted him in an instant. Proud of herself, Lilith tipped her straw boater hat and did a curtsey with her Squid Girl dress in her hand. A ding was heard and the small girl put her own sprinkler on top of the tower. The whole scene was brutal. Absolutely savage.

Nell cringed from the sidelines. The Pink Team was winning, as the Green Team only had their base and middle section covered. She fiddled with her glove absentmindedly. It’s been a nervous habit of hers since she first got the gloves. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a blast of ink collide with someone—she didn’t know who. A ding was heard as Apollo swam in the ink, proud of his kill.

“I can’t believe he got Cerene,” a voice stated from behind her.

“That blaster, man. I saw the whole thing. Disrupter is killer.”

“They’re pushing now, let’s hope that Pink can bring this back.”

Hearing Apollo’s blaster Mawi thanked God that she had Ninja Squid. As he came down from the ramp he swam in the green ink, only to be surprised with an Inkbrush to the face. Her speed was seriously admirable, the brush a blur of pink ink as Apollo exploded with a pop and a ding was heard on the loudspeaker. Brushing the sweat away from her forehead she smiled, but not for long enough.

“Mawi, look out!” a voice screamed from the crowds. Before she got a chance to move a searing pain stabbed her in the lower back as she could feel enemy ink flooding her system blocking all of her senses before she, too, exploded in a pop and was sent back to spawn. A ding rang in both team’s ears. Quickly following the sound, another ding was heard right after. At least someone was there to back her up.

Swimming back to where she was, she stopped by the stands to see Nell with her hands on her mouth looking particularly concerned. “I’m fine, who got me?” asked the girl as Nell lowered her hands.

“U-Uh, she had a bobble hat—“

The girl groaned and went back underneath the ink and threw a sprinkler in the middle. She couldn’t believe that she got splatted by Sasha of all people. The green team was pushing and she just can’t sit there all day. Instead she inked all of the turf she saw on the right side, encountering a few green inklings on her way, sneaking up on all of them. Yet, she didn’t encounter Sasha once.

Towards the end hell broke loose. Lilith charged up her Echolocater so Mawi’s hoodie with Ninja Squid was essentially useless, Cerene charged up Kraken and was deep in their base followed by GD, and Carter managed to share his bubble with Mawi since they were holding down the fort. Two dings were heard simultaneously—she knew that it was Cerene and GD. They were being too risky.

“Carter, get in the middle! Cerene, help him hold it down! GD, come with me,” dictated the girl as she adjusted her snapback cap and gestured for the boy to follow her. They went from the right side this time. How much time was there left, 15 seconds? 12 seconds? She didn’t have time to check on the scoreboard.

“Protect me while I launch an Inkstrike,” she spouted hastily as she readied her special equipment. He nodded and shot at the splashes of green ink still visible.

“Eight seconds!” GD yelled as Mawi was setting up her target. At this point it was more about points. It didn’t matter if she sent it into their base—it’s the points that counts.

“Seven!” He threw two bombs over the tower.

“Six!” The girl tapped the location on the map where she needed to send it.

Covering her ears, she screamed “INCOMING!” It shot into space,

A girl with designer headphones yawned and released her charged Heavy Splatling towards the two. She had a half smile as the boy exploded last second, and her smile only got bigger when she also splatted their team captain. Two more dings were heard just as the whistle sounded—the battle was over. The audience roared.

Everyone jumped back to spawn and anxiously looked towards the electric billboard hovering over the skatepark. A familiar cat appeared on the screen in front of an aerial view of the turf they just messed up.

“And the winners are…” the cat did a little dance as he pulled out two flags, one pink and one green. “The… PINK TEAM!” He pointed both of his flags on their side as everyone cheered.

Mawi let out a laugh as Cerene hugged her tightly. “Man, I was really afraid last second after Sasha got both of us with an Inkzooka,” she said with exasperation.”

Carter nodded towards the electronic screen. “Look at the map.”

It was very even. One side of the map was green and the other pink with a distinct split. The only reason it pushed the Pink Team to win was because of the Team Captain’s final inkstrike.

It seemed that the only wins they got anymore were close call ones.

“We still won though, right?” piped up GD as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Even though it was dangerously close, they nodded and took the win as it is. They had to get their act together for next time. Either that or the green team was getting better.

“Thank you for coming, everyone! And this was the last battle of the night, stay safe and sleep well!” said the announcer as the audience got up from the stands.

Folding up her Inkbrush Mawi smiled to herself. At least they won.

At least they won.

They were transported back into the Lobby via the spawn point. Exiting the doors at the same time as the Green Team, Lilith, a small girl carrying her shiny green Dynamo Roller, stuck her tongue out at them. Carter stuck his tongue out back at her.

Apollo and Margery looked tired. Sasha looked positively furious. “We should leave before she starts to make excuses,” muttered the Team Captain as everyone nodded.

As they exited a familiar form was running towards them. “Mawi! That was great! I was so scared for a minute, but oh my gosh you did it!” Nell beamed at all of them, elated.

“I’m glad we could make your first turf war experience memorable,” said Cerene with a reassuring grin. “But now I’m dead and I’ve seen enough green to never go outside ever again. I’m going home, guys. Sweet dreams-- even though it’s only 7.” Twirling her .96 Gal Deco on her finger she walked off, leaving them hanging around in the plaza near the Lobby.

“I tried warning you about the girl who was making fun of us before the battle, I am so sorry I was not able to warn you sooner,” said the Octoling with exasperation.

“Hey, Nell, you can’t make an omelette without cracking a few eggs. No one can ask for a perfect battle.”

Nell gave her a soft smile as the air of fun suddenly was drained from the situation.

“Hello again, Sasha, how pleasant of a surprise this is,” said Mawi with false politeness. Sasha stared down at the girl without amusement. Instead, she looked towards Nell.

“I know you had something to do with this, weirdo. And I’m going to find out what it is! I saw you talking to Mawi during the battle—which is against the rules. You’d better watch yourself before I get proof that you were cheating.”

Nell raised an eyebrow. “What could I have said that made the Pink Team win?”

“Um, hello? You could have given them intel or told them where people were positioned or something! Don’t play dumb!”

“This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard come outta your mouth, Sash,” piped up Carter as he used his Squiffer as a cane.

The green inkling pouted and stamped her foot. “I’ve got my eye on you, orange. Don’t think that I don’t!”

“That’s a double negative.”

“YOU’RE a double negative!”

Mawi rolled her eyes and was practically screaming on the inside. Every encounter with Sasha was definitely an experience. “So, uh, Nell, don’t we have to go do that thing?”

The Octoling looked back and forth between both team captains and understood. “Oh yeah, that thing. We had better go check on that thing, right, Mawi?”

“That’s right, bye Sasha, it wasn’t good seeing you!” she said as they both bolted down the street towards her apartment.

Huffing, the Inkling put her head in her hand. “I never want to deal with her ever again.”

“I see what you mean.”

| | |

“She’s not _normal,_ Apollo! I swear!” she exclaimed while pacing back and forth in her room. She was Skype chatting with a boy with a similar ink color who looked exhausted. The girl, on the other hand, looked more revved up than ever.

“Gee,” murmured the boy, “I wonder why.”

The girl stopped pacing. “You’re being sarcastic, why?”

Apollo sighed and rubbed the sleep out of his orange eyes. “You don’t notice anything weird about her appearance? At all?”

Sasha tapped her foot and thought to herself. She looked like a normal Inkling. Shaking her head, she could barely hear the guy on the other end mutter “oh my god.”

“She’s an Octoling, holy crap Sasha you’re an idiot.”

She laughed, amused by Apollo’s joke. He wasn’t laughing back. “Apollo, this is serious.”

“Listen, I AM being serious. It’s obvious from the tentacles to the body type. Trust me.”

“As if Mawi is cool enough to actually be friends with an Octoling. Stop lying.”

The boy looked exasperated and wondered why he ever picked up her calls anymore. “Listen, take my word for it or don’t, I don’t care anymore, you called me at midnight to ask for my opinion on this and I gave it. I’m going to sleep, goodnight Snowflake.” Before she could get a word in the call went black.

There was no way that Nell was an Octoling—she would have seen it herself. The only different thing about that girl was her ability to make Mawi win battles.

Sasha was going to find the truth one way or another.


	5. No Questions Attached

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait on this one, though it's longer so there's a plus
> 
> and now we delve into some plot ohoho

It was the same dream that tormented her every night. Repeating every single night as she closed her eyes, she learned to deal with the recurring nightmare, though it still gave her unease as she woke up to recall it.   
  
It was either early morning or sunset-- it was hard to tell with the strong haze. The sky was a cotton candy pink with flecks of dark blue. She could tell that it was Bluefin Depot by is rickety walls and chipped concrete levels. A heavy sense of unease filled every inch of her being as she clutched her Hero Shot with white knuckles. Her legs were like jelly. She didn't know why today, of all days, she felt like she was going to puke her guts out over the edge of the map. Maybe because it was one of the last Zapfish she had to get before she had the power to travel to that UFO and finish it for all-- maybe it was just that third cup of coffee she drunk before she got there.

Loud static screamed in her ears. Mawi took off her glowing headset due to her connection being cut off with Agent 1 and Agent 2. Without the background music provided by the headphones it was eerie to a disturbing degree. Out in the distance she could hear wails and screams from unknown creatures. She wanted to help them but at the same time she just wanted to leave and push them out of her brain.

She had never had her headphones off when she was on missions: the sounds that she normally would hear were peppy workout songs-- Cap’n Cuttlefish insisted that she listen. “My mixtape is fire, Mawi, just let me play it,” he said repeatedly before he forced the headphones on her. His mixtape wasn't that good but she listened anyway to humor him. She just realized that there was a reason why he distracted her with music. The sounds were barely audible, yet she could hear everything with crystal clarity: faint screams, wind chimes without any wind, whispers directly in her ear, and a groan from something that didn’t sound like it wanted to be alive.

Stepping off the acid green spawn point her blood ran cold and goosebumps found their way onto her arms. It wasn’t that she was scared or anything-- how could she be? The big bad Agent 3 couldn’t be scared by Octocrap. Yet, were all of the Kettles like this the whole time? She shook herself out of her thoughts. She had a job to do, music or no music. Her instincts were telling her to go back to her spawn point. Sometimes she wished that she listened.

A few words were decipherable through the babbling whispers permeating her head. She caught the words “leave,” “betray,” and “safe.” Some good omens right there, Mawi thought to herself. Her finger never left the trigger to her gun. She sprayed a path towards the middle of the map and swallowed her anxiety. She just wanted to get out of there and done.

 

She swam up the walls towards the other side of the map. The whispering suddenly stopped as she stared at the bright lightbulb-like shield encasing the trembling Zapfish.

It couldn’t be that easy.

Hearing someone superjump behind her, the girl turned around and readied herself to fight an Octoling. The entire stage was barren.

“What, can’t hit me?” a distinctly Octoling voice echoed around her. “I’m right here, calamari~” A chuckle escaped the Octoling-- the one that she couldn’t see.

Maybe it was her paranoia. Yes, that was definitely what it was, she assured herself. As she sprayed the shield encasing the Zapfish it shattered into a million pieces. Fingertips barely brushing the creature a dry laugh was heard from behind her which made her hand retract.

Turning around there were three figures standing on the ledge behind her, two tall and one short. Everyone wore those creepy Octoling Goggles except for the tallest one, though, her face was not recognizable. Her black tentacles were tied into a ponytail with seaweed.

Acting on instinct Agent Three swam in her ink in an attempt to ambush the three figures. A sly smile crept its way onto the Elite Octoling's face. "Oh honey," muttered the girl as she shoved her hand into Mawi's lime green ink, grabbing onto one of her tentacles and pulling her out of hiding, "don’t think that you’re the first Inkling to cross me."

Being held up by your tentacles was not the best feeling in the world especially since she couldn't help herself from changing out of squid form. The Elite Octoling pulled it like a leash sending sharp pain shooting through her head. She dropped her Hero Shot in an attempt to get herself free from the girl's vicegrip.

Staring down at the struggling Inkling the girl ran her tongue across her fangs. "Not every day do I get to fry up some calamari. Hey, Olive, you get to share some with me, there's plenty to go around."

The small Octoling, Olive, averted her eyes. Her tentacles were droopy and tied in a low ponytail. “I… I’ve never tried it.”

“Oh, it’s delicious. We hooked ourselves a big one, too,” she said in an unforgettable acidulous voice.

Mawi scowled and punched the Elite Octoling in the mouth with her free hand. The girl was able to weasel free from her grip only to be faced with a searing pain traveling from her shoulder into her neck. She cried out in pain as tears welled up in her eyes. It felt like her shoulder was set on fire. Looking down at her shoulder she could see that her skin was peeling, bubbling, and melting a disgusting purple color as if someone threw acid on her. It was the most excruciating thing she had ever experienced.

She let out a scream that could be heard all the way across the city. She couldn't hear anything over her loud heartbeat in her ears. Suddenly the burning was in her arm. Collapsing on the ground in pain she looked at the Octolings, the second tallest one in particular, who was the one that shot her the second time. Her freckle kissed face was distant and Mawi could see her ribcage through her spandex. In some ways she felt sympathetic towards her. In other ways she realized that she could never feel sympathy for an Octoling.

As the pain spread to all parts of her body the edges of her vision turned black.

"This is what you get for messing up my plans, bitch," the Elite Octoling spoke as she clicked her jaw back into place.

The girl's bright yellow eyes shot open as her alarm went off. The clock read 9:30 AM. With erratic breathing she held out her arms and surveyed the healing wounds. Her skin was still warped and an ugly shade of purple where the Octoling's ink came in contact with her. She ran her fingers along the burn wound-- it barely stung anymore.

Sitting up in bed Mawi wiped the cold sweat off of the back of her neck. Her body was trembling as she took her head in her hands. She wondered why every single night she had the same dream of the incident.

Maybe she should tell Nell about what happened that day. Then again, she never told anyone about what happened that day. Who could she tell? Rosalie, Cerene, and Nell are the only people that know about her being Agent 3. Rosalie she didn't want to worry since she originally was opposed to her taking this job. "Be safe oh my god I'll kill you if you come back with so much as a bruise." Cerene she was pretty close to but she didn't want to randomly unload the story like "hey I almost died! let me tell you about it."

Nell, though, she didn't want to tell at all. The poor girl already thinks that Mawi has a vendetta against her. The last thing that she wanted was to make her feel bad for something she had nothing to do with. Maybe she has a right to know.

Slowly getting out of bed she stretched and stepped out of her room into the kitchen. She poured herself a hot cup of black coffee and sipped, admiring the bitterness. Tea never was her thing. Movement was heard down the hall. On cue, a tall Octoling trudged out from her guest room and yawned. Slowly she sat down across from the other girl.

  
“Good morning, Mawi,” she muttered groggily.

“You’ve been getting up later and later, are the Inklings rubbing off on you?”

“I guess. I have just been sleepy lately. I don’t know why.” The girl fiddled with her glove and nodded to the cup in the girl’s hands. “What are you drinking?”

The girl looked at her mug-- it had little multicolored squids on it. “Coffee. Have you ever had coffee?”

Nell blinked. “Does it taste good?”

“Try it,” said the Inkling as she pushed her mug towards the girl. She held it in her hands. “Though, you won’t like it the way I take it.”

Taking a sip the girl’s face scrunched up. It wasn’t sweet at all, more like hot, bitter water. Mawi laughed and stood up. “I’m gonna make you something you’ll like better.”

“Are you sure?” replied Nell as she set the cup down. She had no idea how anyone could drink that and be fine with the taste.

The Inkling laughed as she rummaged through the kitchen for cocoa powder. “You’ll love hot chocolate.”

“Hot chocolate,” she mimicked. She had never tried it. “Why do people drink hot chocolate if it’s hot outside?”  

Mawi gave her a shrug as she popped the chocolatey mixture in the microwave. “The comfort of drinking it. When people drink hot things it’s like you’re getting a hug.”

“Is that why you never take off your hoodie?”

Everything went silent in her head. Instinctively she pulled the Zekko hoodie closer to her body. She never told anyone why she always wore the hoodie. Then again-- it’s not like anyone asked why. No one ever payed enough attention to ask. Should she tell her the truth or pull a lie out of thin air? The beeping of the microwave knocked her back into reality.

Slowly she took out the hot chocolate and stirred it. Just smelling the drink made her mouth water. Setting it on the table in front of Nell she sat and collected her thoughts.

“I always wear the hoodie because… Um… I have to.”

Nell took a sip of the chocolate and her eyes lit up. She had never tasted something so delicious and sweetly rich. The drink filled her body with warmth that she didn’t know she lacked. She smiled into her mug. “This is delicious! I can’t believe what I was missing by being underground,” she exclaimed as she took another long sip. “Also, why do you have to wear it?”

Her voice was starting to quiver. “I wear it because I don’t want people to ask questions.” Before letting the Octoling get a word in Mawi pulled her hoodie off over her head and threw it to the side. Her arms were toned from her years of using the Inkbrush, though, that wasn’t the first thing that Nell noticed: she first noticed the violet tank top and large discolored burn welts scattered across the left side of her body. They were the worst on her shoulder-- her skin was contorted, twisted, stretched and tightened in all the wrong places.

She knew that her body was horrendous. She didn’t need a pity party from random people she sees on the street. The hoodie was her armor.

A toxic reaction to Elite Octoling Ink-- Nell could tell from a mile away. Goosebumps formed on her arms. “I… I’m sorry if I made you--”

“No, no, you’re fine. You didn't do this to me," uttered Mawi as she sat back down.

Nell was silent and felt guilt claw at her chest.

"Will you ever try wearing short sleeves?"

Her body tensed up as she glanced towards the burn wounds etched into her arms. She wished that her skin could just regenerate back into what it was. When she was in squid form it never bothered her since she looked just like everyone else. The scars were a constant reminder of her failure. "I--"

"You can't stay in your comfort bubble forever," Nell started, "and I can attest for that. When did you get attacked?”

“Last winter.”

“Winter was five months ago. Look, I will put on my makeup and we are going to the store to get you summer clothes. You will get heatstroke if this keeps up.” With that she stood and took her cup back towards her room before Mawi stopped her.

“Why are you so concerned about this?” she asked as she ran her hand across the uneven surface of her skin.

She halted and turned to look at the other girl with a soft grin. “That’s what friends do, right?”

Yet, despite that, they both knew that there were other intentions.

| | |

 

Living in the shopping district had some perks-- for instance, there was hardly ever any parking so she could just walk everywhere she needed. Arowana Mall was huge with it’s own open turf war arena in the center of it so people could watch battles while they shop. This aspect made it one of the hottest spots in Inkopolis. They had some nice stores, too.

Nell was literally pulling Mawi by the arm through the mall stopping at any clothing store they passed. At the second store she was forced to actually try stuff on that she took interest in-- though the other girl wasn’t happy with her taste in clothes. By “no long sleeves,” she didn’t mean “ripped band shirts without sleeves.” A couple of them looked nice on her. Some of them she liked so much that she didn’t even care about her scars showing.

With a shopping bag in each hand they both stopped at one last store-- the dress store.

Mawi gave her a look. “Really?” she asked with a cocked eyebrow. She was the last person to wear a dress. It wasn’t that she disliked feminine clothes, but she just never felt like they suited her. She was on the muscular side and dresses weren’t the most flattering for her body type.

“Come on, I’ve never worn a dress before. You can help me pick one out,” Nell stated as she tugged the other girl into the store with her.

Sitting on a nearby bench two figures stared after them with bored expressions on their faces, the smaller one with a pair of binoculars around her neck.

“Why did Sasha want us to use our day off to spy on them again?” asked Lilith with a sigh as she adjusted her straw boater hat.

Apollo crossed his arms. “Why does Sasha ask us to do anything? Like, we both know that she’s a fuckin’ Octoling, right?”

“Mmhmm. But she wants proof.”

“Wasn’t it Margery’s turn to spy on them?”

“She’s probably hungover,” answered the small girl as she stared at the two through the glass walls with her binoculars.

“Just think, I could be doing productive shit with my day, like anything other than this,” said Apollo with sass dripping from his voice. Lilith chuckled as she handed the binoculars to him.

“Check it, Maw is actually wearing a dress.”

The boy took off his shades and looked through the binoculars to see Mawi wearing a strapless purple dress that reached her knees. Nell was beaming at her to which Mawi grinned back, looking positively elated.

Lilith scoffed. “I don’t see what the big deal is, I wear my Squid Girl dress every day. It’s not some big achievement.”

He had never seen her with short sleeves before. Looking closer he could see that her left arm was mutilated-- it was obvious that she was favoring that arm, often holding it with her other. Despite her obvious discomfort she looked like the happiest girl in Inkopolis.

He was done with this. Standing up and putting his aviators back on he handed the binoculars back to Lilith. She gave him a puzzled look as he gestured for her to follow him. Together they walked away from the store in silence.

“I thought Sasha wanted us to follow them,” she piped up.

Apollo frowned and put his hands in his pockets. “I don’t give a crap about what Sasha wants us to do.”

He wondered why he ever tries to listen to her anymore.


	6. Lookin' a Little Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [walks in late] i can't explain
> 
> anyway are you ready for green babes because congratulations you're getting green babes

"What do you mean you didn't get any proof?" a tall green inkling demanded as she pulled at her tentacles in frustration. This was a typical morning for the Green Team. Every other day they meet up at the diner and talk over tactics or recent happenings-- however, it always ends up as "Sasha's Vent Time."

Margery, a girl who was leaning her head against the wall of the booth the four teens were situated in, rolled her eyes and adjusted her headphones to help block out her sister's drone. Nobody had any idea how they were related seeing as they had such contrasting personalities. She absentmindedly shoved the remains of a jelly filled croissant into her mouth and dozed to her music. Every day she was grateful that the headphones canceled out noise.

She definitely counted her sister's weird obsessive rambling as 'noise.'

Apollo pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. His usual aviators were perched on his head to reveal sharp eyes that were practically tearing Sasha apart. Lilith, who peeked over her stack of pancakes, smirked as she watched the battle about to start. Every picture that she captured either didn't show any proof or were of random things like a pigeon trying to pick up a slice of pizza.

He really wasn't in the mood to explain his lack of photos to someone who wouldn't listen. Stabbing his sunny side up egg and shoving it in his mouth he locked eyes with Sasha. "Look, Snowflake, I reeeeallly don't enjoy invading people's privacy. That's creepy and rude. If you want pics of Mawi and Nell then get them yourself," he stated with a sharp tone.

"Mm that's not what you said when you were using the binoculars to stare at that boy's ass," Lilith muttered with a snicker, "You know, the one on the Pink Team?" Apollo glared at her and mouthed the words "I will literally murder you" to which the girl winked.

Sasha narrowed her eyes. "Apollo, do you have a crush on one of our enemies? It obviously can’t be Carter-- Is it the dumb one?"

"GD isn't dumb please stop being thirsty-- and we all know you want to get with Carter," snapped the boy with a slight embarrassed blush dusting his cheeks when he realized that he literally let his secret out. He put back on his glasses and cringed as he heard Sasha scowl.

“Are you with him yet or not?”

"I wish I was," muttered the boy which resulted in a laugh coming from Margery. She playfully punched the boy in the shoulder.

"It's alright, you can fraternize with the dumb one all you want once we get proof that Mawi has been cheating. Only then will they get suspended for good."

Her sister took off her headphones. "Why is her suspension so important? If it's just because she has an Octoling then--"

"It's not about her friend!" the girl cut off as she clenched her fist around her Cupcake Frappucchino. "She thinks she's so great like 'Oh!!! I'm Mawi!!! I'm so talented and Sasha is sooooo useless compared to my skill level!!!!'" she mocked in a high pitched voice. She sipped her sugar infused drink in fury.

An awkward silence filled their booth.

"Yikes," muttered Lilith.

Taking a deep breath Sasha composed herself. "She's just... A pain in the neck. Constantly. All of the stress in my life would be resolved if she was out of it.”

The boy was trying to contain his rage towards her. Usually he never got angry with anyone but this time she touched a nerve. He knew that Mawi was a genuinely nice person to talk to and seeing her that happy in the mall yesterday made him realize that she doesn’t deserve this. After seeing the scars on her arm he knew that she doesn’t deserve to be treated like this.

What did he have to lose? “Damn, that sounds like a personal problem.”

The Captain tensed up. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, I’m just sayin’ that treating this poor girl like she’s scum of the Earth because she’s more talented than you isn’t healthy.”

Sasha scoffed as she scooped the whipped cream off of the top of her drink. “She is hardly more talented than me. Why else would she have to cheat?”

“Maybe, oh, I don’t know, she isn’t cheating? Has that thought passed through your brain? Or have you just been so hell bent on finding ‘proof’ that doesn’t even exist? Listen, next time you want some snooping done, do it yourself. We’re your teammates, not your lackeys."

She clenched her fists under the table attempting to find her retort. "She deserves whatever she gets. I'm just loading on the stuff she deserves."

"I’m taking a break from whatever this is, feel free to hit me up later whenever you decide to stop being a petty bitch.” Without another word Apollo stood and stormed out of the diner.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen him angry.”

“Get ‘er, boyyyy,” Margery muttered as Lilith snatched the bacon off of his plate.

The girl glared at her sister who proceeded to put her hands up. “Hey, I’m innocent here… Lil’ sis, you have to understand, fishing with no lure won’t get you anything. Octolings are pretty much legal here anyway, though… They’ll probably arrest you for harboring one without sending them through check.” She splayed her legs across the booth like a couch with the newfound room. She wasn’t particularly worried about Apollo. He would come around, he loves battling too much to completely let it go.

“If I were you I’d just let it go. If you hate Mawi so much then she isn’t worth your time,” stated Lilith as she stood to leave. “Margie, you’re my ride. Are you ready to go?”

She slouched out of her seat and wrapped her orange cardigan around herself tightly. “Think about what he said, Sasha. He has some points.” Twirling her car keys around her finger she escorted Lilith out of the cafe to leave the Green Team Captain with her thoughts.

Even if he was right she was too prideful to admit it.

| | |

In an attempt to let off some steam Apollo got his blaster and headed to the lobby to do some Rainmaker battles. The lobby wasn't as crowded-- not a lot of people battle at 10 in the morning, contrary to popular belief. This was good news for him, though. Slight claustrophobia was killer in this sport.

There were roughly eight other people waiting in the lobby though he didn't pay much attention to them. Some of them were waiting for turf wars and others were going into ranked like him. Looking at the decorated barrel of his blaster he ran his fingers along the painted flame design. He hoped that his words had some effect on Sasha. Some things you could only drill into someone's head so many times.

All he knew was that he wasn't going to stick around if she keeps up. Of course, he loved her like a sister: he loved everyone on the Green Team. Though, it was more of a dysfunctional family. Every one of them cares for the other but they hardly show it. At first glance Sasha is an insensitive robot but nobody knows about how she let him stay in her house when he was kicked out or when she called him crying to drive her home because she was afraid to drive in the snow.

She is a good person but her heart is in the wrong place.

Hearing the automatic doors to the lobby slide open two figures entered with their weapons leaning against their shoulders. One of them, a pink girl with an Inkbrush, smiled at the boy with her-- who was just barely shorter and used the Dual Squelcher.

Oh shit, Apollo thought as he started to feel uncomfortable in their presence. Mawi and GD, of course, who else would it be? Wasn’t it their off day? Or was that on Tuesdays only? He didn’t know. As the boy with the goggles took notice of his presence he smiled that oh-so-sweet smile and waved, sending butterflies through his stomach.

Much to his dismay the pink pair walked towards him.

“Hey, Apollo, what are you doing here this early? Is your hellion of a team captain with you?” Mawi joked with a laugh.

The boy cracked a smile. “I should be asking you guys the same thing.”

“Mawi does squad battles with me every morning to help me get practice in,” answered GD with a grin.

The girl next to him punched him on the shoulder lightly. “This loser right here carries the team every time. I don’t know why we still do these sessions honestly since he doesn’t even need it anymore, but... they’ve become a little tradition.” The pair chuckled.

The green inkling was speechless. He knew that GD was their newest team member. He joined the Pink Team right around the time when Lilith joined the Green Team a couple months ago.

Sasha never did anything like that to them. Here Mawi was, forming relationships and actually making an effort to help her teammates, when all he remembered was reporting for daily practice. There was never any other level of training.

“It’s nice that you guys do this. On my end all Snowflake does is force us to go through her ‘to-do’ list. For example, she had Lilith and me spy on Fangs over here,” he explained and nodded to Mawi, who shifted her weight.

“What does she want with me this time?”

The boy groaned. “She thinks you’re ‘cheating’ and wants proof so that you get suspended.”

She narrowed her bright yellow eyes and whispered “That bitch” to which Apollo nodded solemnly.

“So I told her off and now I’m here. Look, Snowflake is a generous and kind person, but she doesn’t know how to handle situations that well-- especially when it comes to you.” He shrugged and continued, “I wouldn’t worry.”

“Nooot surprised, honestly. When it comes to Sasha I never worry. The only thing that she’s good at is being tall.”

Apollo smiled. He felt better now that she knew what was going on. If Sasha gives him beef for it, what can she do?

Mawi exhaled and glanced towards the registration desk. “I’d better go check us in, unless you want to skip a day. Just in case you're you two want to... Hang out or something. Yeah. Hang out," she said with a wink. Apollo was literally dying on the inside with embarrassment. How she knew he had no idea. Lilith or Margery probably told her.

"Well, I, uh, I'd better go and check that Nell hasn't had a wild party while I was gone," said the girl who was unable to contain her cheeky fanged grin. As GD sat down next to him he attempted hiding the blush that Mawi induced. She was teasing him like she was his big sister.

The boy with the goggles looked completely oblivious. As she exited the lobby it was just the two of them.

"You don't seem that into it today," muttered GD as he situated his Dual Squelcher in the chair next to him. "Is it because of the Sasha thing?"

"Was it that obvious?"

"Only to me."

"I just... Wish that she was a captain more like how Mawi is with you guys. Someone who doesn't force her teammates to bust their asses doing trivial things."

GD was silent for a minute. "She cares about you, though, in her own weird Sasha-esque way. She may not understand the problems with what she's doing but she doesn't want to hurt you. Obviously she knows what she's doing since you guys are in such a high league."

The boy processed his words. It was true that at the very least Sasha knew what she was doing when it came to turf wars. She had a very mechanical mind. The one thing that she couldn't account for were behaviors.

"You can't always compare her to Mawi, by the way. They're different people."

"At least Fangs has a handle on how to be a captain."

To that GD laughed-- it was soft and gentle. "Mawi's only been a captain for four months! She still gets stuff wrong, but hey, that's how you learn. She’s a much better captain than Quinn ever was."

Now that he thought about it their teams have only been rivals for a few months. Before that there was no talk of the Pink Team and suddenly boom they're in the big league. It practically happened overnight. Yet, everybody has already heard of Mawi. She’s been in the league for a couple years at least. Maybe Sasha had such a vendetta against her because of her reputation.

That’s what Apollo always thought, anyway.

"Dare I ask who Quinn is?"

GD exhaled. Thinking about the old captain gave him anxiety. "I was Quinn's replacement so I never formally met him, but Cerene told me stories of his days as team captain. I remember her tellin' me about how whenever they lost he would yell and scream at them for being useless. Since he thought that they were 'too shitty' he never practiced with them.

"This one time he got angry with Carter because he said that people who use chargers are dead weight. At that point Mawi was fed up with Quinn's crap and started training the team behind his back. Then he found out and practically killed her and left the team with the words 'You guys will go nowhere without me.' From what I've heard he's on a team of his own now. ...The point is that Sasha cares about you guys even if what she does is questionable.”

“She literally asked me to spy on Fangs and get pictures of her behind her back.”

“Yeah, well, you have a right to be mad. She's a person too. At least a you told her about how bad that is,” GD pointed out.

Apollo was silent. He really, truly wanted to stay angry with her. The problem was that anger wasn't in his personality. He was known to be the most chill person on the team.

Maybe she had a chance to think about her actions after he yelled at her.

“...Thanks, GD. Sorry for, like, dumping all my crap on you,” the boy mentioned with a chuckle.

GD grinned a smile reminiscent of sunshine. “I like helping people. Also, those nicknames you have for your friends are cute. I dunno, like Snowflake and Fangs. It’s really cute.” He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, not wanting to overstep his boundaries.

Oh my God please, he thought to himself. He never really noticed the nicknames until the person pointed it out. Sasha always complained of being cold in ninety degree weather so she was Snowflake. Lilith is Shortstack because she barely comes up to Apollo’s shoulders. Margery is Butter because her name sounds like Margarine. Mawi is Fangs for obvious reasons, Cerene is… He always forgot her nickname. He likes to call her Kraken but she scared him too much to use it. Carter lacked a nickname. Apollo made a mental note to give him one.

“I still need to think of one for you. Any requests, pretty boy? ...Or should I just stick with that,” said the boy with a silky voice and a head tilt.

Honestly his best character trait was making people flustered-- or at least being flirtatious. It came easy for him. Despite his cool demeanor on the outside he was nervous as hell.

Before GD was able to react a pink blush appeared on his ears. His phone buzzed-- checking it he realized that it was from Mawi: “succ his dick lol maybe idk just a suggestion ;;;)”. That only made his blush worse. Apollo was savoring every bit of this. Mawi was like the annoying big sister that loved teasing him.

As he answered the text with rage Apollo’s phone dinged at the same time. It was a text from “Butter:” “get ur 2cool ass over to the plaza.” Sighing audibly he stood up and caught GD’s attention.

“Butter texted me and told me that I have to go meet up with the team.”

The boy looked deflated. “Oh, well… I hope everything works out for you and Sasha.”

Apollo exhaled. “Same.” Pausing, he took off his aviators and winked at GD. “Let’s hang out again, Pretty Boy. We should try again after this shitty date.” With that he exited the Lobby leaving the utterly flustered GD processing what just happened.

| | |

The three girls all sat around the top level of the plaza-- Lilith playing on her 3DS, Margery dozing, and Sasha tapping her foot with crossed arms. Noticing his presence she avoided Apollo’s eyes and kicked her sister in the foot. Blinking, Margery stood up and cleared her throat.

“Yo bro what’s up?” she slurred. Sasha glared down at her with fleeting patience. “Uh, excuse me. Hey bro what is new with you?”

“Oh my GOD, Margery!” exclaimed Sasha with a stamp of her foot. “Look Apollo, I made her text you to come here because I wanted to… I wanted to…” The girl struggled to say the last word.

Lilith laid on her back and used Margery’s Splatling as a shield for the sun. “Apologize, Captain, apologize--”

“I was getting to that,” she huffed and rolled her dark eyes. “Look, Apollo, I was being pretty dumb and obsessive and treating you all badly and I guess I’m glad you spoke up about it. I’m sorry for ‘forcing’ you to spy on Mawi. I just needed dirt and the more eyes the better. I’m a petty asshole who hates her pink guts.”

It was an effort and, even though it was practically forced, he appreciated that. It was hard for Sasha to apologize to people. It was a part of her character, though, something that cannot be changed. Apollo hoped that his words had a lasting impact on her.

He raised his brows. “I accept your apology, Snowflake. Sitting next to Lilith he leaned on the wall.

She was baffled at how easy that was. “T-That’s it? That’s all you wanted from me after everything you yelled at me for?”

The boy put his hand on his chin in mock thought. “Yeah, pretty much. C’mon, lighten up, you know me. Sure it was messed up what you did and hopefully you won’t do it again. Like, Fangs is a good person. Let her be.”

“You obviously do not know her like I do,” retorted the girl with a scoff. Still, despite her attitude, she was genuinely glad that he wasn’t angry with her anymore. She wouldn’t be able to bear it if he broke ties with her for good after that one-- though, it wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened.

“Relax, man, enjoy your life. You can’t spend it scheming against a childhood enemy 24/7.”

“He’s right, you know. We talked about this. We gotta concentrate on turf warring,” the small girl muttered from behind her game.

Sasha felt defeated.

“Fine, fine, fine, you guys win.”

With that, Margery sat next to Apollo and leaned her head against his shoulder, beat from those two sentences of conversation she had to say and closed her eyes. Looking at the three of them together gave her a soft grin.

Being together was a feeling that nothing could imitate. She didn’t want to be the person to ruin it.

Not again.

 


	7. Please Intervene, Miss Cerene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Teenage Therapist Wannabe Unveils the True Reason of Hatred" More news next week at 8/7c

A busy radio signal filled the brightly lit kettle, electric noises bouncing off of the high-definition TV screens hung up like tiles on the cave walls. The screens depicted a gold and pink sunset that would make anyone feel warm in the freezing cavern. A small Octoling with a low ponytail sat on one of the platforms in the center of the area. Surrounding her were a series of instruments, radios, walkie-talkies, spreadsheets, and a hoard of broken mechanical pencils. She could hardly process any information at all. She was exhausted, the stale  and dusty cave air was numbing her brain, and she could feel a massive migraine coming on. Though, she was used to this: this was her job.

So there the girl sat twiddling the knobs on the old radio and adjusting the antenna in hope that she would get some form of a signal. The feedback noise was nice after a while, albeit boring. Too bad she couldn’t listen to music or anything. Her boss wouldn’t like that.

Checking the electric clock on the radio she concluded that her superior should be coming around for an update any time now. She always hated not having anything to report to her. At this rate their entire plan was disintegrating.

A loud industrial “clang” was heard from the top level of the cave-- that was where the spawn point was and it was how the Octolings traversed through the separate Kettles. This cave was more or less empty except for a couple trees, disembodied train tracks, power lines, and… Nothing else. It was pretty barren because of how new it is. After Agent 3 closed up all the Kettles for good the leftover Octolings had to improvise in order to survive. To their luck this one opened up and now it’s the only safe place left. That only made their situation more desperate.

The Octoling with droopy tentacles closed her eyes as she heard the sound of her boss’ boots striding towards her-- just seeing her sent butterflies through her stomach. Both in the crush way and the oh my god I’m scared of you way.

“Day 163, still no signal I’m assuming,” the twenty-four year old Octoling stated blankly. Her tentacles were black and tied up with seaweed.

The smaller one was exasperated, still twiddling with the knobs and rechecking her calculations. “Melanie, this is the first thing in my job that I don’t understand. We haven’t been sealed off and this radio is in perfect condition, my calculations have been done and redone and I just can’t-- I’ve gotten the signal before, but--”

“You don’t need to excuse yourself, Olive. I mean, it’s not like the key to our plan is walking around with those squid assholes living it up because we underestimated her mind or anything,” said the Elite Octoling with a sharp voice dripping with sarcasm.

Before Olive could retort the feedback paused causing them both to freeze. Quickly, she jotted down what setting the radio was on in her notes with increasing adrenaline. Melanie snatched the walkie talkie and adjusted the knob so it matches the one on the radio. Pressing the trigger her voice was strong and calm. “1, 2, 3, testing! Hey! Octavio!”

Waiting for a second, a series of beeps entered through the radio: morse code. Olive, pressing a button on the side hastily, turned on the translator.

“It’s about time ya’ll punks made an effort,” the Octobot King’s voice buzzed from the radio. The Octoling Engineer sighed a breath of relief.

“How’s that snowglobe treatin’ you?”

“I don’t have enough time for small talk, Melanie. You guys are lucky that I’m still able to communicate after that twerp ruined my life. You could have just killed her and none of this would have happened.”

She gave a false smile. “I could say the same to you, boss.”

A groan came from the radio which made Olive chuckle.

“You're the boss now. You're the last living Octoweapon and you got that plan, right? The one with sabotage and all that? Go through with it. I've escaped twice now and that pink little bitch has got me locked tight. My time is done, I'm leaving with my life, it's up to you to free the Octarians and reclaim the overworld,” DJ Octavio finished with finality. The two girls were silent.

“We need you for the plan, though-- Since we, uh, hit a little bump in the road a couple weeks ago. Listen, Octavio, we need you to overpower that chick’s mind again when she’s vulnerable,” said Melanie as she shifted her weight.

The feedback was coming back slowly. They both hoped that this would be enough conversation to work with if they lose the signal.

“Again? Sheesh, you're really losing your touch. Or maybe that girl’s just messed up in the head.”

“The latter.”

“I'll do it when I see fit.”

The girl groaned audibly. “I want Inkopolis NOW! And that little OctoBitch is the only one who can help us!”

He grunted. “And I want to be a famous DJ. This is what happens when you chase your dreams too quickly, kid. You end up trapped at the hands of ten inch glass.” With that the signal was lost and the cavern was once again filled with static.

Olive gathered her hoard and looked at the girl with admiration. “So, what do we do now?”

A wicked smile etched it's way into Melanie’s blotched face. “I'm the boss now, and as the boss I say we take a little trip to see an old friend: Little Miss Mawi. With some secret spilling we can get her to never trust that little traitor ever again.”

“She is still hung up about that burn from what my stats show. Won't even wear short sleeves.”

“That's adorable after she murdered half of our infantry. It's a good thing I like my calamari fried,” stated the commander as she turned to leave the Kettle with Olive at her heel.

| | |

Another day, another fistfight between teams. Sasha has quite the arm on her. If Apollo hadn't held her back Mawi would have gotten a black eye for sure. No one really knew what they were fighting about this time-- it's not like they ever did.

“Hey, what's your problem this time?” Carter snapped as he put his arm around the team captain.

The tall green inkling looked shocked. “What is MY problem? She was the one who waltzed in here acting like she owned the place and started insulting me!”

It was the training area. Neither of them expected another team to be there, yet, here they were, fighting over literal turf. Half of them couldn't understand why they couldn't just leave and come back later. Lilith was the only one who was enjoying the spectacle, her Dynamo Roller slung across her shoulders, pure delight and enjoyment on her face watching the drama. Everyone else looked highly uncomfortable that this was happening again.

“At least I have a right to insult some petty twerp who uses her team to spy on me,” Mawi retorted.

“That's just a smidgen fucked up,” added Carter with raised eyebrows. No one denied it. Everyone seemed freaked out after she told the story of what happened.

Sasha stamped her foot. “Apollo!”

“What?”

“You told her!”

“I did.”

“Why?”

He shrugged, making her fume.

“Why is she here with you?” she asked while pointing at Nell in an attempt to change the subject.

Nell glanced around the area. “Why are you here?” She raised her hand to high five Mawi, who half heartedly reciprocated it.

The Green Team’s captain crossed her arms with a smug look. “I thought Octoling scum weren't allowed in turf wars.”

She narrowed her eyes and gave her a questioning look. Mawi cut in to Nell’s defense. “Leave her alone, she didn't do anything to you. Don’t use Nell for a cheap shot against me.”

“I will not hesitate to tell the authorities.”

“GUYS HOLY CRAP YOU’RE ALL BEING HUGE BABIES,” yelled Cerene with ragged breaths. Everyone went silent. The green team has seldom heard her talk before so they knew she was being serious. “Get in a circle. Right here. NOW.”

No one knew what was happening but they obliged with haste. Scrambling, they sat in a circle all right: distinctly split between teams down the middle. Cerene waltzed into the middle of their half-assed circle and shook her head with disappointment.

“Am I seriously going to have to assign you guys seats? Because this is ridiculous. Get up. Mawi, sit here. Nell, next to her. Now Margery, Lilith, GD, Apollo, Carter, and Sasha you're here next to Mawi-- Unless you can't handle that.” Pouting, they all went to their assigned spots, some more dissatisfied than others. Claiming a spot in the middle of the circle Cerene sat with hands folded in her lap.

“Are we playing duck duck goose?” Carter muttered sarcastically.

“Carter, please exhibit some self control. Sasha, hand me one of your burst bombs.”

She crossed her arms. “Why do I have to?” snapped the girl defensively.

Mawi groaned. “Just do it so we’ll be over with whatever this is sooner.”

Reluctantly and slowly she pulled a green water balloon out of her bag and handed it to Cerene who took it with a false smile.

“Alright, so, hello everyone, my name is Cerene though some of you may know me as Ce. I'm a Virgo, seventeen years old, recreational .96 Gal Deco user. You may only talk if you raise your hand and I hand you the burst bomb.”

Almost immediately everyone in the circle raised their hand. Pointing to Apollo she handed him the burst bomb. “Firstly, we all know who you are. Secondly, I'm a little curious: how does any of this matter?”

“You have to introduce yourself first.”

“You know me, Kraken.” Cerene gave him a look. “Fine. I’m Apollo, I’m 17, I like playing the bass guitar.”

She nodded pensively. “Thank you for cooperating. To answer your question, I am serving as a mediator between the Team Pink and Team Green because I’m sick and tired of seeing you guys give each other hell because of idiotic differences. We are all going to introduce ourselves, now, to start. Apollo, you already started, so hand the burst bomb to someone else.”

Pushing up his shades he handed the bomb to Carter who looked very uncomfortable being sandwiched between two members of the Green Team. “My name is Carter, my eyesight is shit, and I really don’t want to be here right now.” With that he gingerly handed the bomb to Sasha who gave him a smile. Apollo huffed, knowing about her hugely obvious crush on him.

“Hello, my name is Sasha, I am a Capricorn, and my hobbies include ballet, being a team leader, and crushing my foes with my boots.”

Mawi, who was handed the burst bomb, was trying to refrain from cracking up. Sasha’s face was deadly serious. “This is not a laughing matter.” She rolled her eyes and mouthed the word “yikes.”

“Mawi, 17, I hate everything except for turf wars.”

“And me sometimes!” Nell piped up with a bright smile.

“And her sometimes.”

The Octoling, who didn’t bother to put on the makeup anymore due to being more comfortable being in Inkopolis, took the burst bomb and tossed it around. “I named myself Nell, I like lollipops, and if I was allowed to participate in turf wars I’d use the Octobrush.” This gained her a sideways look from Sasha.

“Yo what is up, I'm Margery and I would rather be asleep. Sasha is my little sister and we’re the best of friends, right ladykiller?” Margery said while pointing at her sister.

“Margery, you have to stop getting high before we practice!” demanded her sister. “This is why we keep losing.”

She shrugged and leaned on her Heavy Splatling as a pillow. “Maybe we lose because we’re just bad in general.”

Snatching the burst bomb out of the teen’s hands Lilith practically popped it. “Hi!” began the small girl with a grin. “I'm Lilith, I'm 15, and… I don't know what else to say. I like Dynamo Rolling.”

Finally the girl handed the burst bomb to the last person to go, a boy with pink tentacles looking shaken. “Um… You can call me GD. I’m 16 and my favorite color is blue. Listen, Cerene, can we leave?”

“No, nope, not until we settle whatever this mess is,” she answered while gesturing to the circle around her. “We didn't even start yet.”

“We’re all going to die here,” said Mawi with a monotone voice. Yes, the Pink Team was used to Cerene being a mediator, but none of them thought that they would push her to the level of group therapy.

Rolling the spring green burst bomb around in her hands the girl with the visor attempted to find her words. “What we’re going to do first might be a bit hard for some of you,” Cerene stated while specifically looking towards the two team captains. “Everyone close your eyes shut. I don’t want anyone peeking. Now, raise your hand if you dislike someone on the other team.” The entirety of the Pink Team raised their hand where only Sasha raised her hand on the other team.

“Now, raise your hand if you want to make amends with the other team. No more fights, only pure friendly turf wars. No more vendettas.” With that everyone--sans Mawi, Carter, Sasha, and Lilith-- raised their hands. “Open your eyes.”

Everyone looked around at those who didn’t have their hands up. “Lilith, what the fuck?” Apollo exclaimed.

She shrugged. “I feed off of the drama. It’s like, I could film this and Hollywood would buy the rights off of me and turn it into a soap opera.”

“I’d watch that,” Margery piped up as she rolled over on the ground.

“See?”

“Carter, why didn’t you raise your hand?” Cerene asked in a motherly voice that he hated.

“I feel like if we tried to make amends it would never work with team leaders that fight over untied shoes.”

She put a hand on her chin with exaggeration. “Ohh, so you’re saying that these two teams would be perfectly fine if not for the team captains?”

He glanced around the training area. “Uh, I guess.”

“Wow, who would have guessed,” she stated and turned towards Mawi and Sasha, both of whom were refusing to look at the other. “I’m going to ask you two a question: why do you hate each other so much that it’s disrupting the work of your own teams? What happened?”

“Oh, nothing ‘happened,’ Cerene, except for the fact that your little team captain Mawi ruined my life!”

The pink team captain narrowed her eyes. “Says the chick that caused so much drama that I had to physically take a break from turf wars.”

“It’s not my fault that you wanted to be a little lone wolf on a team that needed you. It’s no wonder your team is so bad-- every team you’ve been on has hated you because of your personality!”

“Ya know, I’d just love to go back to the days when we were on Team Aqua. Back when I actually thought you were a useful person in my life.”

Sasha scoffed. “Oh, so we’re bringing back Team Aqua? Back when everyone called little Mawi a ‘true prodigy’ and it went directly to your head so you left us for shit.”

“Sorry, I think you forgot the fact that the team breaking up was entirely your fault.”

“At least I made something of myself from the ground up instead of getting a new name and being an angsty asshole all the time, Eliza. You never hear anything of the young prodigy Eliza anymore, huh? I don’t like Mawi. I despise Mawi with all my heart. I don’t even know who you are anymore. Talk about having an identity disorder at the age of 14, huh?”

Everyone was silent. “Jealous ass bitch,” she muttered under her breath. Swiftly grabbing her bag Sasha pulled out another green burst bomb. Before she was able to throw it at Mawi’s head Carter grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the girl. It was a bit hard since she was a head taller than he was but he knew her antics well enough to expect this.

“Violence is a form of communication for someone who cannot find words,” Cerene pointed out while being unfazed by Sasha’s attempt to attack Mawi. Carter, still holding her back, gave her a face.

“Seriously?”

Cerene grinned. “Yes, I am very serious. It seems that I’ve found the root of the problem. You two have a tragic backstory which still riles up hatred to this day. It would be better for me to do this with a smaller group, like a two on one session so we can really get to the core of your psyche.”

Nell leaned in towards Mawi. “Did she ever get a degree, or--”

“Nope.”

“Oh.”

Sasha, who had stopped struggling, relinquished her burst bomb in defeat.

“Are you gonna play nice?” asked Carter who was still holding her tightly.

She rolled her eyes dramatically. “I guess.” He let her go and stood by Cerene. Sasha made a mental note that Carter would hug her if she got hostile towards Mawi. She should get hostile towards her more often.

“Can we play duck duck goose now?”

“No.”

“We can kick them out, they don’t have to play--”

“Lilith!”

“Okay.”

“Your real name is Eliza?”

“...Yeah. That name is dead to me though.”

“You’ve always been dead to me.”

“Sasha, I really wish that you threw that burst bomb at me.”

“Carter!” the two of them yelled simultaneously.  

“Are you guys serious right now?” the boy retorted as he threw his hands to his sides. They were silent. His patience was shot. “Look, I don’t care about what happened back then on your precious little Team Aqua. I don’t care. You can’t keep dwelling on the past like it makes anything better right now. You both have really great teams, so stop thinking about ‘what would’ve been’ and reopening old wounds. Just grow the fuck up and keep your eyes on the future, or else you’re gonna miss everything right now. Mawi, I know you don’t like talking about yourself, but for God’s sake please swallow your pride.”

The two team captains processed his words. They felt like children being scolded. Neither of them had any idea how to be nice to one another, yet, they both felt terrible after it was put into perspective. Mawi felt a spark of anger inside of her but she decided not to act on it. As the designated person in charge she had to be an adult.

Sasha just made her throw all her self control out the window. So what if they had the biggest falling out in the world? It shouldn’t mean that every time they had to socialize they murder each other, despite how much they both wanted to.

Apollo stood up and stretched. “Well I’m going to leave since Kraken and Carter seem to have you guys handled. GD, you wanna come over? My sis’ Soleil is making fish tacos.”

He glanced around. “Uh, sure! That’d be great. Hey, Mawi, would you be fine with me leaving?”

Those two were too much for her. A fanged grin spread on her face as she nodded. Speaking of which, she had to thank Margery for sending her the text about Apollo’s crush. It made her day.

This is why she had to be the bigger person than Sasha. If they keep fighting surely the teams would be severed even more severely than they are now. The last thing either of them wanted was to be tyrannical Turf War dictators, and yet, this was the path they were on.

“The Aqua Team is dead, so all feelings about it should be dead too. I’m… Sorry for anything that I did to compromise our friendship back then,” she stated quietly. Their friendship was a complex one that ended on a complex note.

“I feel like you should know that I was never jealous about your achievements. I was just worried that Finch and Dew were pushing you in the wrong direction,” replied Sasha with a morose tone. Finch and Dew were the two competitive team captains-- they could never decide who was in charge. They were bad influences on the two girls who embedded false ideas into their minds. If anyone was to blame about their friendship being ruined it was Finch and Dew, and yet, neither of them can admit that they were bad captains.

“I was too stuck up. They put too much pressure on me to carry the team-- precious little Eliza being the powerhouse at the young age of 14. They only liked me because I was good at the Inkbrush. Once they handed me something else to use as a weapon I was dead weight.”

Sasha felt anxious thinking about her past, thinking about how good friends they were. Then the team broke up and fingers were pointed and here they were, being forced into a therapy session by Cerene.

“Will you two consider being kind to each other?”

They looked at her. “Only if she is.”

“And Sasha?”

“...I forgive her for ruining the team, but I still don’t forgive her for eating my leftover hamburger that was in the fridge.”

“If it’s in the fridge then it’s a freebie, holy shit I thought that was like an unspoken rule!”

“I want my hamburger back!”

“You’re not getting it back, asshole! Get a new one!”

“It’s not the same! You have no respect towards other people’s property!”

Cerene chuckled to herself. Baby steps were better than no steps, she presumed. All in due time.


	8. Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was bound to happen with these two.

There was a flash of lightning and a crack of thunder as a pink Inkling peeked out of the blinds of her apartment window surveying the wet world. It was dark and rainy outside with not a soul to be seen, which seldom happened in her neighborhood. Practice was cancelled because of the weather even though the two stages in rotation were Kelp Dome and Walleye Warehouse-- the only two stages that had roofs. She figured she would give her team a well deserved break. They had lost the last battle because of how pooped they all were.

Her apartment was small but cozy. Inside the lights were off except for the fairy lights hung up around the living room that emitted a soft golden glow.

Today, however, was a lazy day for everyone. The weather channel said that it was supposed to be raining for the next couple days and to stay safe if someone had to go out. Inklings can't handle large bodies of water because they can't swim, but any other water was fine. It was just a species thing.

Mawi made herself a cup of coffee as she curled up on her white plush couch. She was split between half watching the TV and half looking out the window. Nell hasn't come out of her room yet but she let her sleep. She would be tired too if she was dragged to every single practice session they went to.

“M-Mawi?” A voice croaked as Nell stood in the living room hallway. She wore one of Mawi’s oversized navy sweatshirts and her usual shorts, though, she looked absolutely terrible. Her tentacles were disheveled and there were massive dark bags under her eyes. Her golden skin, usually healthy looking, was pale and sullen. “My throat hurts really badly.”

The girl stood up and strode over to her, putting her hand on Nell’s forehead. It was burning up. “Holy crap Nell, you're sick!”

“I am?” she inquired as she wrapped her arms around herself. She was frigid. “I never got sick in Octo Valley… Octolings are known for their great immune systems.”

Grabbing a purple blanket from the couch she wrapped it around the Octoling tightly with a motherly level of concern. “It's probably the change of environment…” muttered Mawi as she led Nell to the couch. She snuggled up almost immediately; only her head peeked out of the cocoon of blankets. She really was adorable, the girl thought to herself. “With, uh, new inkling diseases you haven't been exposed to and whatnot.”

“Okay so you have a scratchy throat, a fever, anything else?” Right on cue the girl sniffled and sneezed. “And a runny nose. Were you feeling bad yesterday too?” Sheepishly she nodded. “You should have told me,” she said with a sigh.

Slowly she was sinking deeper into the blankets in shame. “I didn't want to bother you.”

Mawi’s face softened. It was hard to believe that Nell was still anxious about her views towards her. It's been, what, a month? Surely if she hated her she would have taken her back to Cap’n Cuttlefish. Instead it was the contrary; she loved having Nell around. It was nice having real company since she isolated herself a couple months ago after the accident.

“You never bother me. In fact, please bother me. Especially bother me when you feel bad. I'm here to help you but I can't do anything if you keep everything to yourself.” The room was filled with the soft droll of the TV and the pitter-patter of rain on her window.

“Can I have some hot chocolate?” Nell asked in a tiny voice. The inkling nodded and got up to go to the kitchen. She heated up the water in the microwave and waited the two minutes for it to get hot. She could hear Nell coughing from the other room and she shook her head in exasperation. They couldn’t keep going like this. Was she that intimidating? Or was she just scared because she killed Octolings for a living?

She never understood why Nell was so paranoid about her.

She stirred the chocolate beverage and handed it to the sick girl who took it graciously, sipping it slowly as to not burn her tongue. As she swallowed her throat felt like it was being sandpapered. “Bleh.”

“Is it fine?”

“Yeah, j-just my throat,” she muttered in a scratchy and strained voice.

There was a pause. “I don’t want to take you to the doctor because they’ll wonder about what an Octoling is doing here. mean, I can get you medicine for that, but it'll make you sleepy.”

Nell shrugged and closed her eyes. “Worth it.” She savored the warmth from her drink even though her body was cold and clammy.

The inkling left the room to go sift through her medicine cabinet. She herself hasn’t gotten sick since last year, though that might have been because she never got her flu shot. Cerene nagged her to get it this year ‘or else.’ Whatever that meant she was kind of curious to find out.

Pulling open the medicine cabinet she was taken aback with the amount of pain medicine she had. There was hardly any cold medicine except for a bottle of some gross liquid she always hated drinking, but it worked for what she had. She took it out and poured some of the thick, cherry flavored goop into a teaspoon. Nell cringed when she saw it.

“I, uh… I have to drink that?” she piped up with hesitation. It not only looked gross but smelled like rotten gummy bears. Mawi nodded solemnly as she opened her mouth and tried her best to swallow the medicine without trouble. If she didn't feel bad already she did now. It burned her throat with its yucky sugar enhanced goop.

The girl made a face that made the inkling laugh. “First time having medicine?”

“I… It's awful. I never want to drink that stuff ever again,” replied the girl while smacking her mouth. The aftertaste was still there and it made her feel terrible.

Mawi took the spoon over to the kitchen. “Yeah, well, you can have another dose in, like, six hours.”

With the dread of having to drink more of that stuff in her mind she willed herself to become healthy. The taste was only gone when she had another gulp of her hot cocoa.

Waltzing back into the room the girl sat on the windowsill once again, watching and listening to the rain pour. A bright flash of lightning spread its way through the slate sky and right on cue an earsplitting clap of thunder shook her entire apartment. Both of them practically jumped out of their skin, Nell more so. With that she closed the blinds and sat next to the girl who was cocooned in the blankets, both flipping channels for the next hour before the medicine kicked in.

It felt like her mind was in a haze but at least she was able to breathe a little bit through her nose now. She rubbed the calluses on her hands absentmindedly, wondering how they formed. Mawi noticed her looking at her hands.

“How's it goin’?” she asked.

She suddenly cupped Mawi’s face with her hands much to her surprise. She felt her stomach knot. “My hands are rough… Why are they rough? What have I been doing?”

She opened her mouth but no words came out. Nell was obviously in the Octarian Army, though, she probably didn't remember it. The girl retracted her hands. “I feel like death and dying and death,” she whined and pulled the blanket over her head that felt like it was underwater. A chorus of sniffles could be heard from under the purple plush blanket.

“Take a nap, Nell, you'll feel better when you wake up,” she proposed while pulling the blanket away from the girl that looked positively angry. She turned towards Mawi and nuzzled into her body, leeching off of her warmth. It's not like either of them complained.

“Mawi. Mawiiiiiii. Mawiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.”

“Hm?”

She looked up at her with heavily lidded eyes. “Why do people have crushes?”

The question caught her off guard more than anything. She thought for a moment. “I don't know. They just do,” she answered which resulted in a pout from the Octoling. She closed her eyes and muttered things that couldn't be deciphered. “They like being near the person and they want to be closer with them. Why asking about crushes when you’re delirious from a fever?”

The rustling of covers could be heard as she readjusted herself on the couch. A flood of exhaustion rushed over her. Yet, still, she tried processing Mawi’s words no matter how jumbled up everything was getting inside her head. “It’s ‘cause my heart gets all fluttery when I see you… You’re like, really pretty and strong and I just like, want to kiss you all the time I guess,” muttered Nell, trailing off and slurring her words.

Her body went rigid with unease and shock. “Oh my God,” she slowly said to herself in awe. No wonder Nell was so paranoid that she hated her.

She didn’t know how to feel. Nell was beautiful and sweet and kind and witty as hell and Mawi knew all of that-- it was just a shock since she deemed herself as hard to love. Her last relationship was with Rosie’s brother, which lasted for two years but didn’t end that well.

“Why would you like me…?” she muttered while stealing glances at the sleeping girl, utterly dumbfounded at the thought of Nell being interested in her. She didn’t deserve someone so kind purehearted. “You’re too good for me.”

Yet, something within her was relieved. It was almost as if an unknown stress has been lifted from her shoulders. There was no way to pinpoint what it was or what caused it. Looking down at Nell she had never realized how beautiful she was, freckles framing her face like a million stars, a precious little nose, and eyes that made her stomach drop just looking at them. How odd that one of Mawi’s mortal enemies turned the game on its head completely.

| | |

 

Nell blinked sleepily, waking up from a nap. Her mind was in a fog and her throat still felt like she swallowed a sea urchin but at least she could breathe through her nose again. Her headache was gone and she could hear the droll of rain still pattering away on the apartment windows. She yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she realized that Mawi was close to her.

“Hey, Nell, do you… Remember anything before you went to sleep?” asked the girl quietly.

She thought for a moment and shook her head. “The last thing I remember was you giving me the medicine before I slept.”

A feeling of relief and disappointment swept through her. What if she never meant it and it was the medicine talking? What if she’s invading her personal space? Just do it holy shit she’s right there. The girl picked at her skin anxiously which caught Nell’s attention.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Mawi?”

Her mind was cluttered with ten million things going on at once from the confusion about her feelings to the fog in her brain. A headache creeped its way into her body and Nell’s presence was the only thing she was certain about. She was paranoid about making the wrong decision and yet she was paranoid about not doing anything at all.

“...How long have you had a crush on me?” she managed to ask. It was hard to believe that this intimidating, battle worn Inkling was being put to her knees by an Octoling that she accidentally formed feelings for.

Nell’s mouth opened but she couldn't find any words. She could feel her cheeks heat up as she pulled away from the girl.

“I, I, uh…” Her chest felt tight. Yes, it was quite obvious that she liked her. She just didn't want Mawi to hate her any more than she already does. An Inkling like her would never love an Octoling.

“It… It’s not a bad thing,” she answered while averting her eyes. Neither of them had done anything like this before. All that the Inkling wished for was to be gone, mostly from embarrassment.

She was a bit more sure of herself. “It’s not?”

Mawi shook her head and chuckled. “It’s not a bad thing because I kind of have a crush on you too.”

The Octoling felt like her heart was beating out of her chest. No, no, this could not be happening-- it had to be a dumb little sickness-induced fantasy. “Y-You’re not lying?”

They inched closer together and intertwined their hands. “I wouldn’t lie to you.”

Their bodies were exponentially close. A precious soft smile spread on Nell’s face. “You make me feel like I belong here,” she muttered.

“That’s because you do belong,” replied Mawi quietly. She was being completely genuine. A month or two ago she would have never regarded Nell as anything other than a nuisance.

Right then, though, she couldn’t imagine being without her.

Before either of them knew what was happening, their heads edged closer until Mawi’s lips pressed against Nell’s. It was gentle and sweet. As they got more comfortable with each other Nell relaxed and eased in following the guide of Mawi’s hand on the back of her neck. Her lips were warm and soft and more reassuring than anything she’s ever felt before. She was annoyed at how fast her heart was beating, but she realized that both of their heartbeats were going at the same hummingbird rate. Suddenly they couldn’t hear the pitter patter of rain outside—it tuned out just like everything else right then.

Mawi pulled away and pressed her forehead to Nell’s, both of their eyes still closed, savoring the small moment of togetherness that they never realized they needed. The Octoling couldn’t help herself from grinning from ear to ear, a blush dusting on her cheeks. All of the doubts of Mawi’s hatred towards her that still resided in her mind slipped away with the outside rain.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” muttered Nell as she wrapped her arms around the Inkling.

A chuckle escaped her throat as she snuggled up to the other girl. “I kind of do,” she said softly.

“Oh, I’m gonna get you sick!” exclaimed the girl as she attempted to pull away to no avail.

“So what?”

With that the two stayed inside all day, and the day after that, and the day after that, doing who knows what.

All that anyone knows is that Mawi did end up getting sick and Cerene had to take care of both them which included tons of helpings of chicken soup. Though, Mawi and Nell didn’t complain: they had an excuse to relax together-- amongst other things.

 


	9. Knell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't call her out, she's hiding in the orchard  
> Don't call her out, she's hiding in the orchard
> 
> Holly Henry

It was the middle of September-- still relatively warm, though the summer breeze could be felt ebbing itself away only to be replaced with faint traces of approaching autumn. A few leaves on the trees were kissed with orange and yellow. The Inklings never let the cold weather deter them from turf wars. 

It was also two weeks since Mawi and Nell first kissed. Since that day it was as if a heavy blanket was lifted from everyone’s shoulders that came with a sense of bliss and peace. By now everybody, including the infamous Team Green, knew about their relationship. Mawi’s fellow teammates were delighted to hear that they were together; everyone all silently prayed that this would be her turnaround. After being in a depressive slump for months they had hardly seen their team captain as lighthearted as they did when she was with Nell. 

Since then the two girls had laughed, hugged, kissed, and smiled than either had remembered in a long time. For the first time it had felt like everything was alright. Both embraced each other while they had each other, since with outcasts like these two, nobody could ever tell how long anything would last. 

The morning started with the smell of eggs being fried wafting into every corner of their apartment. Getting up to see what was going on Mawi put on a white tank top and shorts. Slowly she ran her hand over the tightened and battle worn skin-- the transition to being comfortable with herself was gradual. She started out with only rolling the sleeves up on her hoodie, just barely exposing a sliver of her burn; then she moved towards short sleeved shirts; now she was starting to become comfortable with wearing tank tops in public. 

As Mawi walked into the kitchen she saw a tall and freckled Octoling pour fried eggs from a skillet onto a plate. She hid her smile behind a hand as Nell put the plate on the table. The past few times Nell had tried cooking for her it ended up with mostly eggshell swimming with raw yolk on the plate, so she wasn’t expecting much. 

“You actually made me breakfast,” stated Mawi in awe as she sat down. The girl nodded as she poured the rest of the eggs onto her own plate. 

“I practiced a lot this morning. By the way, we are out of eggs. I went through two dozen to get these right,” she mentioned with a sheepish glance towards the trash can presumably where the ghosts of the failed eggs resided. Mawi smiled halfheartedly, thinking about how she would have to go back to the store and buy more eggs. She was also sort of worried about eating these since the last time she had to eat Nell’s cooking the eggs were crunchy. Taking a slightly hesitated bite she was pleased to taste fluffy scrambled eggs that were cooked to perfection. 

She was speechless as they both ate their eggs. “Nell, they’re  _ really  _ good. I’m proud of you, babe.”

Nell blushed and waved off the compliment modestly. They both ate their breakfasts with enthusiasm. 

The Inkling put on her Squidvader cap. “I’m gonna have to stop by Cuttlefish today if you wanna come with. He wants an update on how you’re doing,” she mentioned as she took their empty plates over to the sink. 

“He was nice to me,” she pointed out. 

“He’s a nice guy when he’s not recruiting random kids to be secret agents.”

“Yes, well, if you were never recruited we would have never met.”

She did have a point. Sometimes Mawi wondered what would have happened if she never followed Cap’n Cuttlefish into Octo Valley: she wouldn’t be the same person she was today, that was for sure. Going on missions made her grow up uncharacteristically fast. Having her life on the line whenever she entered a kettle used to make her paranoid about her every move. 

Though, being Agent 3 did have some perks. Inkopolis was on her head, her instincts became acute, and… She met Nell. It was hard to believe that her worst enemy would become her girlfriend. 

“I’m glad that I got recruited, then,” she answered with a sweet grin. This gesture made Nell’s heart flutter. She was glad that she came to the surface, even if the real reason why she came up was unknown to either of them. Life is odd like that. “We should probably get going.”

With that they got up and exited the apartment together. At this point Nell had stopped trying to disguise herself just as Mawi had stopped trying to hide her scar. Of course, as the two walked hand in hand down the street they caught some odd glances from passersby, but neither of them cared: their existence was none of their concern. Those who matter don’t mind and those who mind don’t matter.

It didn’t take too long to reach the Inkopolis plaza. Inklings were walking about, some holding weapons, some chilling and chatting, others windowshopping. Nobody paid them any mind as they both turned into their respective sea creatures and swam through the grate near the Lobby. 

No matter how many times she had to travel through this sewer the feeling of swimming in slime always made her feel ill. Even if she came out in Octo Valley completely clean it was just a disgusting feeling. 

They both popped out of the Octo Valley grate gracefully-- as graceful as anyone could be after travelling through twisty slime hell. A small old man stood there beaming at them.

“Hm, you two came! Good, good, wonderful,” he greeted as he gestured to the old and worn couch next to his shack. The two obliged and sat down next to each other facing Cuttlefish who tapped the ground with his Bamboozler. “Nell, it seems you’ve been doin’ fine for the past couple months, am I correct? No incidents?”

The Octoling shook her head in thought. There had been a couple of outbursts with Sasha but she didn’t count those as incidents. Mawi had kept her pretty safe and she was thankful for that. “No incidents, sir. I love it here. Everyone is so kind.”

“Mostly everyone,” muttered Mawi with a bitter tone as she thought of the Green Team. 

He looked between the two girls, his eyes lingering on the Inkling. “And your memories?”

With that Nell averted her eyes. She didn’t want to confess that she still had no memories about her life before she came to the surface. It was starting to become unsettling not knowing who she actually was. Mawi noticed her discomfort and put an arm around her shoulder. 

“That’s fine, that’s fine. You’ll remember as you go, bucko.” He adjusted his cap and hid his exasperation as to not worry Agent 3; she did not seem to notice. “So Mawi are you still fine with keeping her with you?”

“Absolutely.”

He exhaled. “Welp, that’s all I needed to know from you kiddos. If you run into a pickle don’t hesitate to call me. Sorry for sorta rushing you kids out but I have some business to attend to, old person stuff.”

They both stood. “Thanks for having us,” Nell mentioned as they traveled towards the grate. Cap’n Cuttlefish grinned at them as the two swam through the sewer to their dismay once more. 

The old man turned towards the large Octarian trapped like a zoo exhibit in a snow globe who had his tentacles crossed and his eyes narrowed at the man. 

“You know how hard it is for me to trust  _ you _ of all creatures,” he stated while staring at the Octarian in the snow globe with pity. 

DJ Octavio chuckled, flattered that he actually gave him the light of day for once. “Yet once I mentioned that little twerp’s life is in danger you listen? Man, what happened to you? You’re becomin’ more predictable than ever.” 

He always hated conversing with DJ Octavio. Whenever the prisoner decided to strike up conversation Cuttlefish had a strict policy of ignoring everything that came out of his mouth-- though this time he actually said something worth worrying about. He shot the Octarian a glare. 

“You saw the ugly scar on her arm that I mentioned, right?” There was no reply. “Imma take that as a yes because that thing is worse than lookin’ at roadkill. There’s more of that to come and it’s sooner than you’ll ever dream of, old man.” 

A brief pause of silence filled the air. “Can she trust Nell?” Cuttlefish asked sternly. 

  
“Not unless you want her to die,” DJ Octavio snapped with a harsh laugh. The Captain jabbed the snow globe with his Bamboozler to shut him up. He had silently hoped that this was just another one of his cheap lies. 

“What makes you think I’ll believe you?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “I’m in a god damn snow globe. I’ve got nothin’ left to lose.”

| | |

Neither Mawi nor GD knew whose idea it was to do Rainmaker squad battles at 10 PM, yet, there they were, doing Rainmaker squad battles at 10 PM, currently in overtime because somebody on the other team decided they wanted to be special and make a comeback. The only reason why they were doing this was because of the stage selection-- Flounder Heights and Kelp Dome. Currently Mawi was trying to chase down the Rainmaker so they could be done with this. 

GD activated his Echolocater which helped Mawi immensely. She was able to finish the guy off while her teammates were distracting the others. The whistle blew and it was all over: their team won. Everyone was pooped. 

As they were transported back to the lobby GD packed up his Dual Squelcher. “Hey, Mawi, do you want me to walk you home? It’s pretty late and I don’t want you getting… Hurt, or anything,” he asked politely.

  
She gave him a weak smile. “I’m fine, trust me. Plus you have a longer way to walk. If anyone tries to jump me I’m pretty sure I can fight ‘em off,” the team captain joked. The boy laughed nervously, filled with worry. She ruffled his hair and walked out, waving him goodbye as they parted ways through the darkness of night. There were only a couple blocks to her apartment anyway. 

It was almost unsettling how empty the streets were. The heavy thuds of her tan work boots on the pavement were the only things audible as she walked home with her brush slung across her back and her hands in her pockets. It was supernaturally quiet down this stretch of backroad. There were multiply dingy alleyways lining the road she walked on and her tired thoughts were her only company. 

At least she was feeling good enough to actually participate in battles now after that random bout of Nell-induced sickness. At least Cerene was there to take care of them. She really did owe it to her. 

A clatter of a trash can falling over alerted her senses and caused her muscles to tense. Normally she would have just ignored the noise, though, something made her freeze. She prayed that she didn’t jinx herself about that whole ‘getting jumped’ thing. That would be a terrible tarnish on her street credit.

She knew that it wasn’t Spyke: he usually never comes around this part of town. At a snail's pace she strolled away from the noise. 

“How rude of you, Mawi, walking away from me without us exchanging hellos. Didn’t your mother teach you not to be so rude?” a venomous voice commented from behind her. Mawi’s breath caught in her lungs as her hand instinctively grasped her Inkbrush handle. Like lightning she spun around with her Inkbrush in hand and was prepared to splat some shithead right then and there, though, the figure caught her weapon by the bristles. “I’ll let go if you put it away.”

The figure’s grip was in a vice around her weapon. Mawi struggled to reclaim it even with her own strength, yet the figure didn’t budge an inch. They both reluctantly let go as she folded up the weapon hesitantly. The figure shook her hand in an attempt to fling the ink off of it. 

“Who are you and how do you know me?” 

The figure stepped out of the shadows of the alley and into the light of the street. She was tall, no doubt about that. Her tentacles were black and tied up in a ponytail and her eyes were hidden by distinctly Octarian goggles. She had tan and blemished skin. Mawi felt like she recognized her but no bells were ringing. All that mattered was that she was an Octoling in Inkopolis which was enough a cause of concern. 

“Did your mother raise you to be this rude?” She paused to examine the Inking and exhaled. “Since you are obviously ignorant, I’ll go first. My name is Melanie. Surely you’ve heard of me, Mawi? I’ve heard loads about you.” Melanie smiled maliciously. 

Her mouth was full of cotton. “I don’t--”

“You murdered more than half of my army, honey. Of course, I don’t blame you, no no no. You were just doing what you were told and as an Elite Octoling I respect that,” she stated pointedly. She was a hard person to read. Her words didn’t match up to her tone, or her tone didn’t match up to her expression, etc. 

Mawi shifted her weight and attempted to choose her words delicately. “So, what do you want from me right now? An apology or my head on a stake?” She mentally beat herself up because that was as delicate as a freight train.

She waved off her sass. “Oh, let’s leave that for another day. I’d rather not kill you in a place as scummy as an Inkopolis back alley. I feel like you deserve better than that.”

“How kind of you,” the inkling muttered bitterly. 

“I try my best to be. Now the reason why I came up to this hellhole is so that I can do my yearly good deed and warn you. Obviously you have a right to know who exactly it is you’re living with, right?” 

The word didn’t come out right away. It suddenly felt wrong on her tongue. “...Nell.”

Leaning on the wall and looking at her nails halfheartedly Melanie gave false enthusiasm. “Bingo! Anyway, so you get the full context of this, I’ll just tell you my evil plan right now: my original brilliant plan was that I round up my troops, free Octavio, and storm this city. Luckily for you the key player isn’t doing what I expected, so you and whoever else is in your little ‘superhero’ gang got a little bit of leverage.”

Despite her silence her thoughts were racing however the Octoling wasn’t giving her a break to process any of them.

“Now onto Nell or whatever her dumb new name is: she wants to be a little bitch and claim all of my hard work to herself because she infiltrated Inkling society.” She chuckled. “I mean, that  _ is  _ pretty smart of her. I wish I had thought of it first. Why else would an Octoling come to this shithole? To make friends?” Melanie pushed up her goggles so they sat on the top of her head. 

“Don’t you think it was a bad idea to tell me your entire plan right here?”

“Not really. Nell has already done most of the dirty work, what, with almost killing you that one time at Bluefin Depot? I heard that it left a nasty scar… Oops! I think I let that one slip. No wonder people call me a blabbermouth.”

Her knees were about to buckle yet somehow, with her mind about to shut down, another part of her was still able to talk. “Why would I believe someone that I met in an alley over someone that I’ve known for two months?” she retorted with snark. Melanie cocked an eyebrow.

“If you can’t clearly see,” Melanie started as she gestured to the seaweed tying her tentacles up, “I am an Elite Octoling. I am telling you the truth out of my own free will. The only reason why I’m ratting her out is that she’s trying to steal all my credit. That’s it. It’s simple.” The air turned frigid. “Since you currently don’t have anything intellectual to add to the conversation, I’m gonna go. But hey, don’t believe me. Ask your little girlfriend about me and maybe you’ll believe the defect. Tell her I said hi!” 

Sometimes Mawi looked back on this situation and wished that she had splatted her when she had the chance, but as the woman turned into an Octopus and swam through the grate, she knew it was too late. She wanted to scream and cry but nothing came to her. Her body was locked. 

There was no reason for her to believe Melanie over Nell, yet with all of her training, it was hard not to feel a little seed of doubt. Her explanation all added up no matter how much she didn’t want it to. As Mawi walked back to her apartment she tried to withhold herself from vomiting all over the sidewalk in a bundle of nerves. 

As she unlocked her apartment door she realized how much it all added up. Nell greeted her as she walked in but it didn’t process. She plopped herself down on the couch and tried to control her body which was starting to tremble. She picked at the skin on her hand anxiously as she tried to find her words. 

The Octoling stared down at her with concern. “Are you okay, Mawi? What happened?”

Her acid colored eyes narrowed at Nell as if she was trying to find the truth in her face. “Do you know an Octoling by the name of Melanie?” 

Her eyes widened in shock at hearing that name. She couldn’t remember a face or physical characteristics, but she remembered the name. She remembered being terrified of Melanie. Nell twirled her tentacle around her finger. “W-Why?”

They locked equally intense gazes. “She told me that you came here to attack Inkopolis and that you were the one who failed to kill me.” 

An icy hand clenched itself around her chest. She shook her head frantically. “No no no, that couldn’t have been me.” Looking at her hands and remembering the dingy Octarian Armor she came to the surface in the feeling of horror settled in her body. “...Could it have?” 

Mawi stood up with the feeling of rage flooding her senses. “Now that I think about it, you look just like the bitch who did it to me. You have the same freckles, the same nose, the same height. I’ve been such a fucking idiot,” she snapped, remembering the paranoia induced nightmares of the incident she’s been periodically suffering through. “You ruined my life.”

Nell took a couple shaky steps back. “I… I’ve changed! You’ve changed me! Please--”

“Octoling scum never change. Nell, do you understand how much you’ve traumatized me? How many nights I’ve woken up crying and shaking because I dreamed about reliving your murder attempt?!” She was blinded by rage. Everything that was plugged up since the incident was coming through. Tears peeked out of the corners of her eyes but she didn’t care. 

Nell felt uncomfortable with her body. She wanted to run, die, scream, do anything other than stand there and realize that she caused her girlfriend so much pain in her life. Her presence was only making it worse. The only good thing right then was that she was starting to remember the things she was forced to do. She remembered how she was forced to kill intruders, risk her life for the army, and how Melanie tormented her entire life. 

Most of all, she remembered seeing Mawi on the ground with skin melting off from the ink of her gun. 

“I’m so, so, sorry that I e-ever hurt you,” she managed to croak out.  

“I don’t want to hear it.” The Inkling pushed past her and shut herself into her room. She took off her hoodie and clutched her burn welts with tears blurring her vision. 

  
It was almost laughable how dumb she was.

In her fury she wasn't able to hear the Octoling leave out of the front door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been waiting for this moment since August lol hope you enjoyed it


	10. S.O.S

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're truckin through slowly but we're gettin there

The pain of cavernous rocks digging into her spine jostled the Octoling awake. 

“Good morning, honeybunch. Didja sleep well?”

Nell blinked, blanking. All that she knew was that her rib cage ached and she was lying on the ground staring up at large stalactites that were peeking behind TV screens. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and glanced around her surroundings. Her body tensed as she realized that she was underground-- in her old Kettle. 

“On second thought I don’t really care if you did or didn’t,” said an Elite Octoling who hovered over her body. She tsked and gazed upon her with pity. 

“M-Melanie…” the girl started with a small voice as she put two and two together.

Melanie gave a sharp laugh. “Good job-- and I thought your brain was too fried to remember who I am. I mean, I guess it is pretty hard to forget your commanding officer and role model, no matter how cooked your head is.” She paused her self flattery to adjust her gloves. “You’re lucky that we found you wandering around Inkopolis. It would have been oh so terrible if an Inkling killed you out of fear.”

The girl attempted to sit but Melanie forced her back down with a quick boot to the chest and the wind knocked out of her. 

“I’m not done talking, bitch,” she hissed. “Did you forget how to act around your superiors, too? You’d may as well be dead weight. Don’t worry, though; DJ Octavio has some stuff to remedy that.”

Breathing was becoming a struggle. “L-Let me go--” she huffed out the last word as Melanie’s boot dug deeper into her lungs. 

Her slit pupils did not break from Nell’s own. “What did we learn from your little two month adventure, Nell?” 

Her voice was strained as her heartbeat rang in her ears. “I--”

“Cat got your tongue? Alright, Olive, how about you? What did we learn?”

Another Octoling who was holding a bunch of wires and watching the ordeal like a circus act perked up. “U-Uh, don’t trust Inklings?” 

“Not the answer I was looking for but it was a good try. Look, I’m feeling a little bit generous today so I GUESS I’ll tell you what the lesson was.” The woman knelt down next to Nell and yanked on her tentacle. The sudden pain caused her to wince. Her voice was dripping with acid and made Nell remember why she left: she wanted to escape. “We learned that if you ever try to think for yourself again you won’t be getting a second chance. You should be thanking me. This time I won’t take any chances with your dumb mind fucking up like it did last time. Olive! Tell Octavio that it’s time. Only the strongest dosage of mind control for our special little escapee army leader.” 

As she released her foot and walked towards Olive, Nell started to cough violently as she hastily filled her lungs with musty cave air. She missed a lot of things about the surface: she missed being able to breathe, being able to actually see the sky, and she missed Mawi. _Mawi_ she thought to herself. She hated Nell. She hated her with all of her heart and there was nothing she could do to make it up to her. 

“Where’s Mawi?” she croaked while sitting up and seeing the glistening Octoling armor in Olive’s arms. Her blood ran cold at the sight of the clean reflective metal she had tried so long to take off. In an attempt to scurry away she pushed herself back only to realize how winded she was. Violent aches made her muscles not respond. 

Melanie chuckled. “You’re talking about the girl who got PTSD because of you almost killing her? She obviously doesn’t care about you, so why would you care about her? You practically ruined her entire life.”

Nell was beginning to feel furious-- but she couldn’t deny any of it. The feeling of hopelessness settled in her body. Mawi’s life would be better off without her in it. She wanted what was best for her and if that meant never seeing her again… She was fine with that. 

“Don’t be heartbroken, honey, I can see it in your face. She never liked you to begin with. Inklings could never love ugly Octolings,” she explained with a tone as if she was a kindergarten teacher. Seeing the pair of Octoling Goggles in her hand Nell tried to refrain from having a panic attack. Her lungs weren’t cooperating. She didn’t want to go back. She didn’t want to go back. She didn’t want to go back. 

Checking her radio Olive grinned with relief. “Octavio said that it should be kicking in any minute now and that ‘You’d better not eff this up, Melanie.’” 

The Octarian commander felt like a kid in a candy store. “Nell, with you back, I can finally rise up to be the Great Octoweapon that I was meant to become!” she exclaimed while pulling back the tentacle that hid her right eye. There wasn’t even a right eye at all-- there was only a pulsing green X mark. It was the mark every Octoweapon had. “Yep, that’s right! While you were gone I had a little ‘work done’ so I can be the first biological Octoweapon. I think it’s absolutely wonderful!” 

Nell was to take her place as commander-- and she was absolutely terrified. She willed her legs to stand and run to anywhere other than there but they wouldn’t budge an inch. The pain was substituted with numbness that traveled from her legs to her hips and from her hips to her torso like the tides of a calm ocean. She was so panic stricken and overwhelmed that her body was violently trembling when Melanie strapped the Octoling Goggles over her eyes, practically blinding her. The numb feeling spread to her arms and neck. She didn’t want to go back.

Her mouth opened to scream but no sound came out. She was a prisoner in her own body. She didn’t want to go back. _Go back where? You’re already home._ She was going to cry and die and scream and murder and lead and command her Octarian army and follow every single order given to her. A force reminiscent of a freight train rammed into her head, though, the headache that comes with mind control was something she was used to. 

Her body stood up as rigid as stone staring vacantly ahead and waiting for it’s commands. Her brain felt like jelly. 

“Welcome back,” Melanie stated with a clap of her hands and admiring Nell as if she were an art project that won first prize. 

Those words meant nothing to her. 

| | |

Mawi had ordered black coffee and Cerene had ordered green tea. As the two pink Inklings received their orders the Team Captain simply stared down at her drink with distaste. Coffee probably wasn’t the best thing in her anxiety ridden state but she took a sip anyway, ignoring the burning sensation scalding her tongue and the nerves in her stomach. Cerene set down her tea and put her hands in her lap staring at the other girl as if she were this week’s crossword in the newspaper. 

“D-Do you have to psychoanalyze me right now?” she spouted, noticing her unfazed stare.

“I wouldn’t have to if you’d tell me the whole story about what happened last night.” It was painfully obvious that something was up with her. Her tentacles were disheveled, her eyes were sullen, and she looked hell warmed over. “Are you still sick? I have some leftover soup.”

Mawi downed her coffee in anguish. Looking at Cerene’s concerned expression she realized that she couldn’t hide anything anymore. Everything tumbled out like word vomit. “She’s gone and it’s all my fault, I was the shittiest person in the world and now she’s gone and she… I told her that she ruined my life and I’ve been reliving the fight since last night and now she’s gone--”

“Shh,” the girl silenced her. “Coffee is no good for you, Mawi. Try my tea.” She pushed her cup towards her without taking no for an answer. Unwillingly she took a sip of Cerene’s crappy leaf water which was warm and… Calming. She handed back the cup. “I assume that this is about Nell. The little lady had more to her than a name, huh?”

“She was the one who almost killed me,” she muttered which caused Cerene to cock an eyebrow. 

She looked past the nitty gritty details. Reopening old wounds right now would be the opposite of progress. “But you’ve realized that her morals have changed in the time period where you two got to know each other, right?” 

Mawi was silent. 

“Oh my God.” She exhaled. “Look, I’m not blaming you for acting the way that you did. Anyone with anger issues and PTSD like yourself would have done the same thing. Now, though, I want you to forget everything that happened last night. Throw it out of your mind. Ask yourself: do you still love Nell?”

The question caught her off guard. Last night she would have said no. This was the girl who ruined her life, why in the world would she still care about her? Each time her mind forced her to relive the fight and the incident she regretted her actions more and more. She regret yelling at Nell, as if anything she said could make the past any better. At the time she wanted to punish her and make her experience the pain she had been enduring for the past couple months. 

Mawi was the only person that Nell had grown close to and she ruined it by being angry for something she wasn’t even aware that she did. When she woke up to an empty house her world was coming apart with paranoia that something had happened to her. She wanted her back and safe and in her arms again and she wanted Nell to know that she is so so sorry about everything she had done. 

“Yes.” 

“You should let her know that, then.”

“I don’t even know where she went or if she even wants to see me again,” she started only to have Cerene’s finger silence her as if she were a librarian. 

“I want you to cut it out with the ‘ifs.’ ‘If she even wants to see me,’ ‘if she hates me,’ there’s no way of knowing that right now; you need to push that out of your mind and focus on what you know. You can’t just sit around frozen with paranoia because you’re inadvertently overthinking everything. You know that you love her and she’s gone so work with that instead of giving yourself an anxiety attack.”

She was speechless as she realized how selfish she was being. Nell was missing and she was over here crying about if she still likes her or not. The calm Inkling didn’t flinch when Mawi stood abruptly. Locking eyes, Cerene nodded to her team captain, reassuring her that this was the right choice. Their conversation was silent but wholesome. As Mawi left the cafe to make things right she closed her eyes and sipped the tea in front of her. It was cold. 

Nothing stopped Mawi’s pace as she hastily navigated Inkopolis. Nell could have been anywhere, though, she had a hunch that she was in Octo Valley. She prayed that she didn't do something terrible. 

_Please let her be safe,_ she thought direly. _Please._

Much to her dismay she had reached the manhole. She didn't care about people seeing her or seeing her take off her backpack and zip on her hero gear, or put on her glowing headset and pull out her high powered gun. Switching on her headset and swimming through the grate she didn't think about anyone other than Nell and saving her. 

Popping out and seeing the craggy mountainous skyline that she was so used to was short lived as something felt… Different. Something felt off which showed in the goosebumps that appeared on her skin. Cap’n Cuttlefish was nowhere to be found. The only living creature there was DJ Octavio trapped in his snow globe who looked particularly pleased with himself. She waltzed towards him to which he cocked an eyebrow at the sight of her. 

“Long time no see, scrub,” he commented. 

She was in no mood. “Where's Cuttlefish and where is Nell?” 

He feigned looking offended. “What, am I not good enough for you, the Great Eliza?”

“You know what name I prefer, asshole. Please just cut to the chase.”

He rolled his eyes. “Does it look like I'm buddy buddy with that zombie? I don't know where he fuckin’ went; he left and that's all that I know.” He paused. “About that little Octopus, yeah, I saw her comin’ through here. She was being carried, though, so she probs’ didn't come here on her own accord.”

Anxiety was replaced with sheer fury. Nell wanted to come back but she couldn't: she was taken.

“Melanie,” she scowled. This was her plan from the start: she egged on Mawi to force Nell to leave. 

The pathetic thing was that she fell for it. 

“Christ, don't even get me started on that little punk. She's too weak to use her Octoweapon powers so I had to steal Nell’s consciousness for her, like what kind of boss are you?” 

She was stunned as his words hit her. At that point the Octarian leader before her looked like scum of the earth. Her voice was dark. “Where is she?” 

Octavio seemed disinterested. “Why don't you check the only kettle still in use and makin’ electricity?” 

Mawi side eyed him. “Don't you usually escape by now? Why are you helping me?” 

He leaned back in his snow globe. “I’m sittin’ back on this one just in case Melanie fails. It's sorta testing her but it's mostly because I don't really want to be the boss anymore. Just let me make music.”

There was no reply from the Inkling. She had other things on her plate besides being distracted by Octavio’s sob story. 

The source of the electric current took a little bit of hunting. The kettle was in a place that Mawi had never explored before-- it was in the fourth area but tucked away by shrubbery and neglect. As the Inkling knelt before the grimy kettle that was practically radiating static she ran her hand along the rust-eaten metal with unease. It looked like it had been through twelve wars. A kettle this old had to have been dormant for ages. It was no wonder no one had used it when Octavio was in power. 

Terrible groans escaped the kettle that sent chills through Mawi’s body. All of the active kettles made noises similar, but this one sounded more pained and desperate. 

Was she ready to face Melanie? The doubt permeated her head. The Elite Octoling was the most manipulative person she had ever had the pleasure of meeting. There was no way that this was going to be as simple as going in and coming out with Nell carried in her arms bridal style.

Standing on top of the kettle grate that looked as if it was about to crumble under her weight she swallowed her worries for the last time. She remembered what Cerene had told her: she can't overthink everything. Mawi had to save Nell.

Transforming into a pink squid and swimming through the kettle she silently prayed that it wasn't too late. 

The inside of the kettle was large and intricate, the cave ceiling only barely visible, its details being lost with the height and the smoggy air. The gigantic panels lining the walls of the cave were all showing different scenes: some were flickering, some were dangling off their hinges, and some had gaping shattered holes in their screens. They all displayed separate videos of an orange-pink sunset. It was gorgeous in a dismal way. Despite them being broken they all conjoined to show the same scene. 

Electricity danced on her skin and made her shiver. She had never thought that she would be back here anytime soon. The chill of the stale air was something that was all too familiar. She had just hoped that she was not too rusty at her job. 

A visible air of starvation hung in the cavern: the dead trees planted in the platforms were drooping with the strain of gravity, surrounded by brown, dried out leaves that once clung to the branches. They crunched pathetically under Mawi’s weight. As she strolled through each level, seeing nothing, an abysmal pit grew in her stomach. All she wanted was to get Nell back and get this over with. 

She hid in her own ink and scoped out the visible area as she super jumped to the topmost level. Normally there would have been Octoballs, Octotroopers, Octosnipers,  _ anything  _ determined to stop her-- yet this time there was nothing. The cave looked to be completely uninhabited. 

Having absolutely no plan at all was kind of dumb on her part, now that she had time to think about it. She silently prayed that Cap’n Cuttlefish was there in her headphones to knock some sense into her.

It all happened so fast it was hard for her to process exactly what had happened. Something flashed in her peripheral vision, she slowly peeked out of the ink, and a sharp spine chilling laugh pierced the air and bounced along the cave walls. She attempted to ambush whoever it was to the best of her ability, though, that’s exactly what the Octoling wanted her to do. 

It was over before it had even started. 

Her headphones and gun were knocked away from her, wherever she was taken. One could only assume what the Octarians had up their sleeves. 

The headphones buzzed with static as garbled voices made their way through, a couple hours later. 

“Agent 3… okay?” 

“What’s happ.... ...espond! Agent 3?” 

“Something… we’re coming in to save you.” 

“Please don’t be dead.”

“Agent 2… is not the time!” 

“I’m just tr… of a bad situation, Agent 1!”

“Agent 3, I don’t even know if we’re getting through to you. But we’re coming to get you!”

Their message was choppy but it got the point across. It was terrible that nobody was able to hear it with almost broken headphones that were smashed on the cave floor. The only person who heard their call was Olive, who tracked the radio lines like they were lottery numbers, and she wasted no time in telling her superior that two other Inklings were coming to save their special little prisoner. Melanie grinned when she heard that. She glanced towards Mawi, who was knocked out, bruised, and bound, and towards her second in command, an Octoling with a freckle kissed face that was guarding the agent that ruined their lives. 

This time they weren't planning to lose. They will reclaim the land and fresh air that was rightfully theirs a long time ago. Now it was just a matter of patience. 


End file.
